Fire Emblem: Reawakening
by Motley World Studios
Summary: There are two sleeping dragons: one who is the protector of mankind, one who is its sworn destroyer. Dive into this fantastical realm to follow the story of those who would come together from every corner of the world and decide the fate of the world. Will it be salvation or destruction?
1. Author's Beginning Notes

_**Author's Name: Blue**_ _**Sun**_ _**Studios**_

_**Date of Beginning: November 2, 2014**_

_**Story Title: Fire**_ _**Emblem:**_ _**Reawakening‒**__**Author's **__**Reintroduction **__**Notes**_

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_**W**__**elcome back everyone, this is **__**Blue**__**Sun**__**Studios**__** finally back on the air with you all. Before you return to rereading this redone story, first thing's first: as much as it pained **__**me**__** to do so, **__**I**__** took down the older version of this story and began wracking **__**my**__** brain with what **__**I**__** wanted to do with this entry. There were things in the older version of the story that really felt too out of place that simply rewriting the chapters themselves while keeping the old story up did not bode well with **__**me**__**; during the earlier days of working on it **__**I**__** really did not have much of a thought on what **__**I**__** planned on doing or have anything set in stone yet other than to make it feel different from the game itself and different from a gaggle of other novelizations on this site, and as a consequence it ended up being a little everywhere. Amongst other things that happened to **__**me**__** in **__**my**__** personal life **__**I**__** had to figure out which direction **__**I**__** was going to take this story aside of just "making it different", and while **__**I**__** still haven't pieced everything together **__**I**__** did manage to get the earlier parts mostly concrete. As **__**I**__** said in the previous version of this story, this is a variation of a novelization/reimagining of Fire Emblem: Awakening's plot proper; overall it will follow a guideline and similarity to the actual game, especially early on, but as Chrom eloquently put it–"anything can change"–so try not to expect everything to go down the same road that the game does. And last but not least, the disclaimer (which you'll be reading right after this) will remain strictly confined to the beginning of the story because personally **__**I'm**__** tired of having to put it in every chapter of whatever **__**I**__** write and **__**I**__** know that you all must be tired of them too (**__**I'll**__** also apply these changes to **__**my**__** other stories as well so don't worry about this being exclusive to this entry). Without further ado, it's time for **__**me**__** to reintroduce you one final time to the slightly revamped disclaimer of this story.**_

_**The following is a nonprofit, fan based fiction. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Blade of Light through Fire Emblem: If are all owned by **__**Nintendo**__**Co.**__**, **__**Ltd**__**. and all OCs created for this story are property of me, Blue Sun Studios.**__** Please support the official releases. **__**WARNING:**__** this story in its entirety contains content that some viewers (i.e. you) may find inappropriate, offensive, and/or uncomfortable. If you are under the legal age of adulthood, unsure about reading this fiction, or some other third entity that shouldn't be here, **__**I**__** advise you not to view this. For those of you who are allowed to and are all set to read this, please rate and/or review at your own discretion.**_


	2. Premonition: The Awakening

_**Author's Name: Blue**_ _**Sun**_ _**Studios**_

_**Date of Beginning: November **__**2**__**, 2014**_

_**Story Title: Fire**_ _**Emblem:**_ _**Reawakening‒Premonition: The Awakening**_

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_**Theme: Dive into the Heart**_

Darkness…they were completely surrounded by nothing but darkness. Were they falling? They couldn't tell at this point; it felt as if they were floating in the air or at the surface of water, yet it also felt as if they were lying still atop a flat surface. Were they dead? Hard to say exactly; they felt as if they were fully aware of their own consciousness but it didn't feel like an earthly experience, rather it almost felt like they were being spirited away.

"_Awaken…"_ a distant voice said. It reverberated all throughout their minds with a powerful and commanding voice. It didn't take too much effort to open their eyes, but they weren't met with anyone. Where could that voice have come from? _"Awaken,"_ the voice repeated, this time with even more force than before. Weren't they awake already? Either way, not wanting to test this figure's patience, they made to stand themselves not feeling the least bit exhausted. Their gaze was cast about everywhere and found nothing but darkness, save for a lone figure who stood right beside them. Upon closer inspection this person was quite quaint in physical appearances.

Before them was a garb that appeared to be magical in nature, with special mention going to the black coat that was draped over this other person's frame with hints of purple and gold, yet the most peculiar aspect about them was their mystical white hair and molten gold eyes. Their eyes beheld confusion and curiosity, and they stared at them intently leaning forward to inspect them better. Before the other spoke the voice from earlier had returned.

"_Good, you both have finally awakened,"_ the voice told them, _"but not completely. Neither of you will experience the complete Awakening right this moment; that will soon come to pass later on. For now, you must focus on removing yourselves from this dream state."_ These words had confused the identical looking pair, nevertheless they heeded the mystery entity's voice and began looking around for an exit. The only thing they could see was (again) darkness for however long it stretched. _"The only way to exit this state is to answer these questions,"_ the voice said. Before they themselves could question this figure a blinding light from beneath them shot up, and as they tried to look down at their feet they caught a glimpse of the darkness itself parting and giving way to what appeared to be a stained-glass portrait. When the light had dimmed enough they both saw that it was a portrait of themselves in a yin-yang position with each other, both brandishing a jagged sword and a single book. Their eyes were closed as if they were sleeping much like they were now supposedly.

"_Which do you value more than ever?"_ the voice asked them. From the glass-stained pillar upon which they stood came forth ten different relics, all wildly different in appearances. _"Here, you must choose to keep one and discard the other. The one you choose to keep will represent what holds more meaning to you, while the one you choose to discard thusly will represent what holds the least meaning to you."_ Each relic moved of their own accord to the pair as if they were sentient and rose into the air further as the voice explained each one in detail. _"Before either of you keep or discard any of the relics, wait until I have finished explaining all of them before you make your decision. You may both choose the same relic if you desire or not; the choice is entirely up to you."_

"_This is the __**Seraph Robe**__,"_ the voice began, "introducing" the robe in question that was shaped like folded angel wings and with a golden halo floating above it. _"It will grant you extended longevity should you desire it, but shall likewise take away from your own lifespan should you discard it."_ Next came what looked like a large crimson tear drop with a fire raging inside of it.

"_This is the __**Energy Drop**__. Should you wish to keep this, it will empower you enough to be able to move the very mountains themselves, figuratively speaking. Refuse it, and your physical prowess will suffer dearly in that department."_ Following suit was a collection of light blue dust that glittered brilliantly.

"_This is the __**Spirit Dust**__. This relic will augment your magical capabilities in terms of offensive applications, on the battlefield and off. Or you can choose to deal with a weakened magic power if such is what you seek."_ The fourth relic came to the forefront; a green book with arcane writing stood before them.

"_This is the __**Secret Book**__. Your adeptness in dexterous tasks will be pushed to its limits with this, but your peaks and skills therein will be set to a lower bar as a consequence of disregarding it."_ Next was a single shimmering feather which gracefully floated towards them.

"_This is the __**Speedwing**__. Under this relic's blessing your body will move and react at speeds others could never hope to attain, but it shall spite you with those same attributes but reduced if you reject it."_ Stepping up to the plate after was a statuette of some holy-looking figure.

"_This is the __**Goddess Icon**__. Take this with you and enjoy having the Luck Balance of the Universe tip in your favor, but beware if you care for it not, for the Luck Balance of the Universe will verily tip out of your favor."_ Hiding behind the Goddess Icon was a large shield proudly displaying a fierce dragon on the front.

"_This is the __**Dracoshield**__. Carry it with you and you shall be as unmovable as the mountains, again speaking figuratively. But if it has no meaning to you, you are very literally liable to become a pushover."_ Soon a red and gold medallion emanating a magical aura stepped forward.

"_This is the __**Talisman**__. If it is in your favor then it will act as a ward to protect you from various other types of magic, whether in battle or otherwise. But toss it aside and you will not get those benefits, instead cursed to endure a lack of defense against malicious magic."_ The next relic shown did not appear too out of the ordinary: a pair of plain boots.

"_These are the __**Boots**__. Take them and your legs shall carry you to the ends of the earth and beyond. Or, if they hold no significance, then your feet will tire out much sooner than they do now."_ And last but not least was another book, but this one was blue and had a sword-and-tome combination on the front.

"_This is the __**Arms Scroll**__, Treasure it, I say, and you will gain an increased learning ability to master any form of weapon much sooner than any other. Don't, and you will be slower to even grasp their basic functions than most others around you."_ As soon as the voice had gone through each and every relic the duo of snownettes understood their benefits and disadvantages. But they didn't seem ready to keep and discard any of them. They thought that there had to be another relic that had all of their benefits combined and that this voice was hiding it. They looked past the presented artifacts and all around themselves but found nothing.

"_Is there something else that you seek?"_ the voice questioned, already knowing the answer but wanted to tease the two silent ones. _"Is it the power to wield them all, without having to degrade yourselves from sacrificing one? A sensible thought; who in their right mind would willingly handicap themselves in one area while increasing their capabilities in another area and not strive to break their limits in all places? But what if you only had the choice to take one and abandon another while the rest are unchanged? What then?"_ Their eyes remained defiant and they held their original decision; if they were capable of pushing themselves further than anyone else in the world then that was not an opportunity they wanted to pass up. _"So…you remain vigilant in your stance. _Ha_, how greedy of you, to wish to wield every power known to man! What a typical notion that many beings hold, both mortal and divine! However, unlike most I sense a greater purpose in you than to simply have everything at your fingertips; it is something much deeper and goes beyond what any would ever dare to go, therefore I respect that stance nonetheless. Very well then, if you do not desire to settle for less then I shall grant you what you truly seek…"_ The relics retreated almost as if they were hurt from rejection and began spinning in the air, drawing closer towards each other before magically converging in a flash of light. When it disappeared, the only thing left behind was a single object that was in the shape of the Energy Drop, but it was a lovely golden color that glowed with brilliance and looked like it was made out of liquid as opposed to the fire that the other relic was. Amazed, the duo walked forth and beheld its magnificence in their hands.

"_This is __**Naga's Tear**__, an artifact forged together from the very tears that the Divine Dragon Naga herself shed for humanity. It combines the effects of all of the other artifacts, and since you are so intent on wielding the power of all, it shall be yours both. But, as with this artifact, there is a catch…"_ The pair was about to look as if they were tricked but the voice stopped those thoughts dead and cold. _"You will not suffer from a downgrade in your abilities, I assure you, but I suspect that your life when you reawaken will adapt to your newfound powers if only to make itself harder to live out. Many might attempt to seize your power out of envy or to kill you outright. Others may feign their nature to get closer to what you hold, and others still will want to control you, to make you theirs. Be wary of those who walk in the sun with masks, and cherish those who are able to see past what you have, treasuring what you are at your cores…Go on, take what is yours…"_ And took Naga's Tear they did, simultaneously grasping it and noticing the other's hands around the object. They were quick to remember that they both could receive the object if they wanted and accepted, nay, welcomed the other doing so. Suddenly Naga's Tear shone even brighter and the pair too took on the same glow. They both felt a powerful surge of power shoot through them and they recoiled from the feeling, clutching their chests as they struggle to breathe.

"_Relax,"_ the voice told them. _"Naga's Tear has simply spread itself within you. You will feel the effects of the empowering very soon. And thus concludes the first of five Awakenings…go forth, and prepare yourselves for the next Awakening…"_ Once they were able to stand fine they were sure that they were very much prepared for the next "Awakening"; shattering their confidence was the platform underneath them shattering, with both of them silently screaming as they fell to parts unknown. And not too soon, they stopped, suspended in midair above another stained-glass platform, but it beheld two different figures: they were both blue-haired individuals, one male and one female like they were and appearing as if they were royalty of some sort, and they both held different weapons from what the last image's pair had. Like the last depiction their eyes were closed suggesting that they were also asleep.

"_These two figures,"_ the voice began, _"they are the forefront of the few who will play an important role in shaping your ultimate destiny and fate…they are known as __**'Chrom'**__ and __**'Lucina'**__…the former is a representation of the __**Light**__ of the world, while the other is a representation of the __**Twilight**__…"_ The figures themselves lit up in correspondence of the spoken names, with the man being first and the woman being next. _"You both represent the foil of the former and the other half of the latter: the __**Darkness**__…in between Chrom and Lucina are the rest of those that you will meet on your journeys. They may either join you as allies or oppose you as enemies, and they represent everything else either including Light and Darkness or not…"_ What exactly did their future hold in store for them? Was it something that they would find pleasurable, detestable, or something else entirely? _"I know not what the future will be; that is something that you must discover on your own…"_

Before the duo could think of anything else, the voice suddenly shouted out at them. _"Here they come,"_ it said. _"Those who will oppose you in your lives are coming to make quick work of you. Arm yourselves. Quickly."_ They looked around and spotted the same jagged sword and tomes from before and hurried to grab them. Once in their hold they saw numerous people descend from above, all of them dressed in various wear, armed with weapons, and looking to kill. _"They are without a restraint of morality, therefore they will not take mercy on you. Kill them before they kill you."_ The pair did not hesitate to battle these people, bringing their swords against them with swift strikes. Each swing they made was accentuated with a violent spark of electricity which transferred over into their opponents, their bodies convulsing rapidly before they collapsed, This continued on until the last enemy had been felled with their weapons; the pair looked on in shock at the sheer display of power they held.

"_It is only a fraction of what you truly hold inside of you,"_ the voice said. _"When you undergo the True Awakening, your power will be at its fullest potential. You will wield the power of a God."_ That alone was a bit of a scary prospect, but they figured that they chose it, therefore they had to bear with it. Looking upon their downed opponents they saw their bodies become pale in color and sink into the platform below them in a pool of darkness. _"On guard,"_ the voice ordered, _"they are not your only enemies here."_ From above dropped down more beings who wore what looked like the toughest armor around, and they had large lances ready to impale with. _"Your swords will have little effect on them. Try to defeat them with another method."_ Already on the draw they took their tomes and channeled magical energy into their other hands, quickly casting what looked like thunder spells into their enemies, and they watched as their enemies exploded into a display of electricity flying everywhere. They repeated the process until all of the armored opponents could stand no longer. Again they marveled at the strength that they commanded and saw how their enemies once again sunk into the ground like those before them.

"_Impressive,"_ the voice congratulated, _"but you are not finished here yet. Any of your weapons will work against this last opponent, but only if you are capable of working together. By 'working together' I mean 'fighting as one, moving as one, trusting in each other's abilities'. Here comes your final enemy."_ In an ominous swirl of dark clouds a figure manifested before them, taking on the appearance of a tall and dark skinned man who dressed in intimidating robes with dragon motifs while carrying a violet tome in his hand.

"Perish!" the figure hissed, drawing forth forbidden magic energy and casting it around the pair. They easily dodged the lethal spell and closed the distance to deliver a slew of coordinated slashes with their swords. He appeared to defend himself but had no such luck in fending off his attackers and fell quickly when they blasted through him with their combined thunder magic. Down to his knees he fell, uttering under his breath, "What have you…?" before he collapsed completely, this time disintegrating into dark smoke and fading away into the darkness.

"_That man was __**'Validar'**__,"_ the voice told them. _"He is a sorcerer who wields mighty fell magic; he will most definitely cross paths with you in your lives. Depending on how this next Awakening goes, he will either be an ally or an enemy, just as with everyone else…"_ Suddenly they felt something clasping at their ankles, or rather they were being dragged down by the floor itself into the darkness. They panicked, trying in vain to free themselves from this shadowy quicksand before it swallowed them whole. _"Do not fret,"_ the voice tried to assure them. _"This is where your next Awakening – the one that decides your destiny – shall begin…"_ Despite their words meaning to comfort them they only felt fear as they sank further and further until they were no more…

* * *

Their eyes shot open and they frantically looked around to pinpoint their location. They seemed to be laying down in an open field full of flowers that stretched as far as the eye can see. Turning to their side they found their lookalike present in the same predicament. They were relieved that they at least had each other around, someone else to fall back on. Wondering if they were out of the dream state, having not heard what the mysterious voice last said to them, they surveying their area finding that they both were all alone, at least until they glanced behind themselves, and they met with a familiar sight.

"Had a nice nap I presume?" the man asked. It was Chrom from their dreams, wearing the same attire he was depicted with in the glass and smiling brightly at them. "You look like you both need a hand. Here." He offered his own arm to lift them both to their feet and they accepted, the man being surprisingly strong enough to hoist them both up. "That's better," he said. They both had a feeling that they would end up liking this man.

"Would you two mind if I asked you a personal question?" he asked, catching them by surprise seeing as how they had just met him. Nevertheless they nodded in agreement granting him permission to do so. "Thanks. Now, do you think this would apply to you best? Are you the type to put others before yourselves, to take risks for their sake, and to make sacrifices to ensure their well-being whether or not they deserve it?" It wasn't too hard to come up with an answer; they figured that they would do that under the right circumstances, and they felt that protecting others was a good thing to do even if they didn't deserve their protection. There was no need for them to pay evil onto evil.

"I figured you'd say that," Chrom said. "Heh, I think I'm beginning to like you two already." This brought a smile to their faces finding that they've already seemed to make a friend. "I just know that the world will become a better place with you two around…" Before they could affirm that Chrom turned to leave; they were going to stop him until a gust kept them in place and shrouded the man in a shower of flower petals. When they dissipated he was gone, gone as soon as he came. Where did he go? They looked around their entire surroundings and far out behind them they spotted a woman crouching down with flowers cupped in her hands. They wasted no time in reaching her spot and noticed that she appeared to be weeping over something. She didn't seem to notice them so they placed a hand on her shoulder attempting to calm her down.

"Wha—?!" she gasped jumping back from the foreign touch. "Oh! I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you there…" Upon closer inspection they found that this woman was Lucina. She too had the same clothing that she wore in their dream and the sword and its scabbard was exactly the same as Chrom's from what they could see. Perhaps the two were related somehow? They did share a similar blue hue in hair color. But where Chrom's hair and flesh looked vibrant and full of life, Lucina's was dull and pale, befitting that of a corpse. Where his voice was proud and bold hers was trembling, and where he was happy she was despairing. And of special note, Chrom's eyes were normal in appearance; Lucina's eyes each beheld a strange sigil, her left bearing the same mark that Chrom had on his right arm, no doubt cementing their connection, and the right one bearing a mark of uncertain origin, although they swore that it almost looked identical to the mark that the Validar figure had on his book.

"I—I don't mean to trouble you two, but, may I ask you something?" Of course she may. If it did anything to ease her apparent woes than they would let her do just that. "Thank you so much. What—what would you do if you had no other favorable choice but to…kill yourself for those you loved if it would keep them safe? To give up the most precious thing to you just to allow them to see another day? Would you do it?" Of course they would. If there truly was no other way they could save their close ones they would happily jump in the line of fire without regret or hesitation, even if it meant breaking their hearts. As long as they had another chance to enjoy life yet, it was worth whatever the price may be.

"That…you have no idea how much that means to me…" Lucina said, a small smile gracing her lips, and the two before her couldn't help but pull her into a hug to make her feel better. "I suppose…I suppose that that is what love is at its purest form, willing to do anything for those who live in your hearts…that…makes my own heart rest…much…easier…" They were glad that they could put this woman at ease…wait, was she _gasping_ _for_ _air_? They weren't hugging her that hard they knew, yet when they looked she appeared as if she was suffocating. They were ready to breathe some air into her, and right before their lips could connect her head lolled back and her eyes had took on a glazed look while titled back slightly. No…they could not let her go out like this. One of them performed CPR on her while the other pushed against her chest hoping to jumpstart her heart back up. Their efforts were in vain, as the pale woman had shown no signs of life. She wasn't actually dead the pair thought; they tried to hold on to the belief that she was simply unconscious. Desperately they tried to find someone, anyone, who could save this lady. They tried looking for Chrom once more and see if he was still here, but they found someone else.

_**Theme: ...**_

A tall woman wore a heaping amount of ornate golden armor fashioned after a dragon's skeleton around her upper body, followed by a flowing black dress attached at the waist with purple and gold highlights and transparent enough to partially see through them, her flesh was the same dull and pale pallor as Lucina's but a tad bit darker, and she possessed snow white hair like the snow-haired couple. They took up the unmoving body of the blue-haired woman and ran straight towards this other woman, and when they reached her they hoped that she would recognize the presence of a dying lady who needed help.

"What is it that you seek?" her empty voice came, carrying no emotion unlike Chrom and Lucina. They hoped that she had the power to save this unfortunate person from death. When she turned around they had just noticed how what they thought was red spots were in actuality bloodstains, a bouquet of dead and withered roses were held in her black-clawed fingers having almost turned a dark grey and sporting a ton of still sharp thorns, and atop her hair was a black wedding veil that draped over her eyes, partially covering some violet facial markings. All in all, this woman looked like a dead body too just like Lucina. As if to emphasize this all of the flowers beneath her bare feet and several flowers nearby them were all dead, creating an eyesore of a sight that sharply contrasted everything else.

"You wish for the power to save her?" she asked, a wisp of dark purple and black smog accompanying every syllable she spoke, and the insides of her mouth were just as deathly colored as the rest of her was, also revealing her bloody teeth and longer than usual canine teeth. They furiously nodded their heads desperate to stave off death. "You cannot save her from dying, for her death has already passed." Were they too late? There was no way that they would let this come to pass. She didn't seem to be finished speaking however, kneeling down to the deceased Lucina. "There is a way to spare her this fate. To bring her back from the jaws of death." The duo were ready to do whatever it was this woman had told them to do.

"Do you believe in 'Invisible Ties'? They are the ties that bind every creature in this universe together…you, me, and your unfortunate companion are all bound by this single thread…can you feel it? It is all encompassing force that resonates through time and space…do you believe in such powers that be?" As odd as that sounded they found that they agreed with this woman. The mysterious voice from earlier had already said as much that their paths were destined to intertwine with Chrom, Lucina, Validar, and many more beings. Considering the odd nature of recent events happening to them they very much believed that such ties existed and held them all together.

"I see…" the woman said. "With this belief you may yet be able to save this woman Lucina, and protect all those around you from those who would seek to destroy your bonds…" This had them overjoyed that they had a chance to save Lucina from death and they looked up to the woman to thank her for giving them one last hope to believe in. "However, now is not the time for that."…What? It's not time to rescue their fallen companion? What was that supposed to mean? "You will be able to save her in due time…but that time is not now. Before you depart here, look into my eyes as I impart one final message onto you…" This woman took a single hand and brushed the veil out of her eyes, and the pair were off put of what they beheld. The woman had large under shadows that encompassed her sunken eyes, and the facial marking was the same as the one in Lucina's right eye and Validar's tome: six eyes connected to each other with the middle ones surrounding her real ones, and that wasn't even the most unnerving aspect of her eyes. They had the whites as everyone else did and they looked dull, but the colors bordered on demonic with black irises and lone blood-red rings in each center that mimicked pupils to some degree.

"You will have many trials ahead of you both, and if you wish to overcome them you must do so as one, lest you fall as two. And you alone will not have the strength to carry on through every single obstacle that your journey will place before you. With your destiny determined, look to your allies to help guide you down the path you wish to tread, and tread with utmost caution. Remember these words well…" She took the lifeless body of Lucina and made to leave as Chrom had before her, but the pair still had questions to ask her. As if sensing this she turned around one last time and her eyes had turned completely black with the red rings enlarged to appear as irises, with blood tears streaming down her emotionless face. "I am Akasha, Queen of the Damned, and we will meet again…" They wanted her to tell them how to bring the dead woman in her arms back to life but they could feel themselves slowly slipping out of consciousness. But they had to save her, they had to…

* * *

_**Theme: Dive into the Heart**_

When they came to, their eyes were met with a familiar black sky, and rubbing the exhaustion out of them they looked around and saw that they were atop another stained-glass platform, but this one had a different scenario: it was the woman Akasha as they last saw her, but her eyes were closed while she was apparently being gripped by shadowy arms. Opposite of her was Validar, who was depicted as having his eyes wide open with a dark aura surrounding him and a wicked smile adorned his face. The shadowy arms that bound Akasha were traced back to his aura and in his hand was the same book from their encounter. The six-eyed sigil appeared behind them and what's more was that there were blackened-out figures whose only distinguishable feature were menacing red eyes that shone bright against their dark forms. Was everything they just experienced another dream of sorts?

"_You have made it through the third Awakening…"_ a familiar voice said. So they _were_ still asleep after all, which was somewhat disappointing to say the least. _"Now that we now have an idea of what your destiny is, the next Awakening will push your power to its limits to see how you fare against this enemy…Akasha and Validar themselves are currently intertwined with each other as they are with you, and the figures behind them are also connected. They are what you will be facing as your next enemies…Go towards the edge of this station and prepare yourselves…"_ Now definitely in the mood to leave this dream state more than ever they complied, standing to their feet and moving towards the edge where they saw another "Awakening Station" down below. Were they seriously going to have to jump this one? It didn't help that the station looked to be pretty far down. _"No harm will come to you I assure you,"_ the voice told them. _"Now jump, onward to your next Awakening. If you don't you will not leave from your dream state."_ They didn't even have time to prep themselves for the long fall when something shoved them off of the edge. Screaming out in terror – albeit without sound – they braced for an impact when the station came ever so closer, and right before they touched down they were held above it in the air. It was only for a second though, as they were soon "released" and landed face-first onto the platform. They quickly looked about to find that damnable voice and give them the what-for for this scare.

"_Ease yourselves,"_ it said with a slight hint of humor in it. _"I _did_ promise that no _serious_ harm would come to you did I not?"_ They pitifully tried to glare in every which direction for the trick believing that they'd at least look in its general direction. Now that they had a chance to look at the station it showed them two great dragon in another yin-yang pattern like the previous images. They were directly facing each other unlike the previous portraits, behind each was what looked like two different worlds. The white colored dragon did not look too out of the ordinary but it definitely held a divine look about it, and behind that dragon was a peaceful world with happy people beneath it. Opposing it was a black dragon which was drastically different. It had six eyes from what they guessed and great horns jutting from its head while sporting six wings, and behind this dragon awaited a world of ruin with the same shadowed out figures with red eyes found everywhere. These must have been two dragon figures who battled each other for the fate of the world, but who won?

"_Get ready,"_ the voice called. _"__**They**__ are here…"_ _They_? With little warning pools of darkness swamped the station and deathly hands crawled their way out of them. When the enemies were in clear view the pair recognized them: they were the same enemies they had fought earlier minus Validar, but they were different now. They didn't look as lively as before, both figuratively and very literally, still sporting the same weapons, the same wear, and the same wounds from earlier. Their eyes however looked especially different; they were pitch-black with red rings for irises, exactly like Akasha's eyes when they blacked out. _"__**They**__ are the __**Risen**__,"_ the voice said. _"Reanimated corpses with only the will to kill. They are more deadly now than they were alive. Show no mercy and no hesitation, for they do not know the meaning of those words."_ The duo took out their electric swords and lunged at some of the fallen, only for their blows to be blocked with an opposing attack. They were pushed back by the shambling party with relentless blows of savage fury. They tried to think of a way to outmatch these creatures but every time a plane came together _**they**_ tore it apart with their wild swings, throwing off the duo at every turn.

"_You will not beat __**these**__ creatures with strategy,"_ the voice told them. _"You must match their ferocity blow for blow, never letting up or giving them a single opportunity to strike hard. Unleash all of your fury onto them!"_ Obeying the command they began to fight off their enemies just as ferocious as they were, if not more ferocious. The Risen soon found it hard to keep up with the fast pace of the battle as the electric swords slowly chipped away at their endurance and weapons, pushing them back up against the edge of the station. The pair got an idea; supercharging their swords with the power of their tomes they increased the magical output and struck one last time at each Risen. The overwhelming force of the weapons were too much to handle and the undead horde was pushed off of the edge of the station, howling out their last breaths as they descended into the unknown. That battle was definitely tougher to manage than the ones before it, and they honestly hoped that this was the last of them. They however had no such luck right now.

"_That was an impressive first victory against the Risen,"_ the voice congratulated, _"but they have not pulled back just yet. Sometimes, they will be spearheaded by a __**Chieftain**__ of their kind or even someone else who commands Risen of higher intelligence than the ones you have faced right now."_ Almost as if on cue more pools of darkness spawned forth and more Risen came crawling their way up to ground level. These ones were the heavy armor enemies who turned from their last battle, and making a grand reappearance was Validar, entering the battlefield the same way he had done last time.

"You cannot deny fate its true course!" he bellowed. "Accept your eternal slumber as was written long ago!"

"_Some of your enemies may come back for multiple encounters after the first,"_ the voice explained. _"Whether it be they legitimately survived or they turned and rose from their grave they will hound you once more. As these particular enemies utilize strategy you must defeat their ploys to stand a chance. And in this case, defeating the commander of the Risen will cause the rest to lose focus, cohesion, and likely scatter about. Give them a reason to stay down this time."_ They nodded, taking up their tomes once more. They watched as the heavy armor Risen banded together to form a defensive wall of some sort with their lances pointed outwards and covered behind their large shields. Validar himself stayed behind them while he charged up his fell magic, giving it an extra punch than before.

"It is all written!" the sorcerer cackled. "Now DIE!" from his hands flew the condensed fell magic heading straight for the team of two. They noticed that Validar had distanced himself as far as possible from them, giving them another idea to try out. They charged up their tomes until they began to crackle with lightning sparks going wild. When it was so they raised their arms skyward and cast a different lightning spell, combining their individual spells into one powerful variation and a vicious lightning bolt came down upon Validar, even partially singing the Risen who stood to defend him. The power of the spell charred the sorcerer while flinging him off of the edge of the station, his screams of his impending demise being the last sound that was heard. Within seconds the Risen shifted out of their position and stood about growling in confusion.

"_Without their leader they are little different than the rest of their mindless brethren,"_ the voice said. _"Now finish them off!"_ Taking advantage of their confused state the white-haired duo fired off rapid rounds of thunder magic at the bewildered Risen, slowly but surely pushing them off of the station one by one to share the same fate as their master. The pair could only grin at how well they seemed to be doing thus far and honestly wondered if the next challenge would be this easy. _"Once again, an impressive victory,"_ the voice complimented. _"However, the challenge is not yet over. Two more battles await before you can move on the Final Awakening. And I warn you: these next two will not be so easy…"_ What could their next opponents possibly be? A sharp inhale of breath from behind them told them exactly who their next opponent was. Turning to look they saw the miraculously moving form of Lucina. With their previous experience with her coming back to them they were quick to try to welcome her back but stopped short when they saw her rise to her feet for the first time. She inspected herself and was horrified to see what she had seen. She was a walking cadaver, no longer possessing the telltale signs of genuine life, instead being reanimated as a parody of true living creatures. She looked ahead of herself and found the two white-haired people from before, at first feeling shock, but that gave way to rising anger.

"_You_…" she venomously spat out. "How _could_ you…?" They didn't understand what she meant; what exactly had they done to her other than…then it came back. She was dying, and they failed to save her. "I can't believe that you really just left me to die like that!" Tears were welling up in her eyes but these were white hot tears of sheer rage. "I thought I meant more to you than to deserve that!" They wanted to tell her just how badly they wanted to prevent this from happening but the voice stopped them to tell them of their next fight.

"_The actions you make can either lead to positive or negative consequences such as this,"_ they said. _"Sometimes, your failure to protect your allies may lead to them rising from their graves to pursue you and take measures to make you pay for them. She is beyond reason by now, her heart consumed with hatred towards you and vengeance over her own undeserved passing. End her miserable un-life as soon as possible."_

"I can't ever rejoin the others…I'm doomed to wander the pits of Hell for all eternity…" she nearly sobbed but didn't allow herself to cry, not until _they_ paid dearly. "And if I am truly cursed to suffer infernal torment forever, then I will be sure to drag you both with me!" With that she drew her sword from its resting place and charged at the pair in a rampage. _"You will not stop me!"_ she shrieked, and with speed they didn't think capable for her she was the first to draw blood, slashing at the male just barely above his intestines. He faltered for a moment but took his own blade out to parry the following blows from the enraged woman. A forceful slice aimed at his head was fortunately dodged in time for him to swiftly counterattack with an electrified swing right above her abdomen. Lucina cried out from the pain and staggered backwards a few feet while the female snownette rushed to assist her injured ally. When Lucina regained a semblance of her footing she glared at the pair before her with her eyes shifting into the familiar black and red pattern that the rest of the Risen and Akasha bore.

"I will kill you!" she roared, her rage overtaking her and causing her to recklessly charge again in a second attempt at revenge. This time she wasn't as fast due to her injury and her enemies could easily predict her next attack. An overhead vertical bisect was successfully blocked, yet Lucina continued to press down harder with her sword hoping to overpower her foe. It almost seemed to be working too, the keyword being "almost". A shrill gasp escaped her lips as she felt just about all of her strength leaving her and a sharp pain surge through her. She looked further down beneath where she attacked and saw the female counterpart with her sword jammed firmly into her chest cavity, utterly destroying her heart and partially poking out through her back. As if that wasn't enough the jagged blade was caught between her ribcage and puncturing her lung as well, ripping that and some of her ribs apart when the blade was retracted from her body. Blood poured out of her like a stream while she dropped her sword; the weapon itself shattered like glass on contact with the floor and Lucina stumbled back trying to keep herself standing while covering the gaping tear in her chest. She took one last look at her killers, seeing the look in their eyes that told her that they didn't mean for her to die. She looked pitiful to them, clutching on to dear life with tears cascading down the sides of her face.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…" she managed to rasp out before consciousness left her for good, her body falling down in a pool of her own blood with a wet thud, and she ceased to move anymore after that. The two fighters tried their best not to choke on their grief over losing Lucina again when they slowly approached her form and knelt beside her. As they were holding her, her body melted away into a thick plume of purple smoke until there was nothing left of her to hold. The tears shed for her at this point were very much inevitable.

"_Do not mourn over this…"_ the voice consoled them. _"That was only an apparition of the real Lucina. She did not truly die; this was merely a representation of a consequence of possible actions that you may soon commit."_ This did help cheer them up somewhat but it still felt all too real for them to get over so quickly. _"Worry not; the next battle will not be so emotionally distressing, I can promise you that. And then you can finally move on to the Final Awakening…"_ They silently stood to their feet gearing themselves up for this last battle.

"_Finally, in your journey, you will face many enemies,"_ the voice explained. At that moment two new figures descended from the black sky and landed on the glass with a loud clanging sound. _"However, some of the most difficult enemies you will encounter may actually be your allies in disguise…"_ The two tall beings rose to stand at their full height, dwarfing the tacticians several heads over. They were covered from head to toe in thick and imposing armor despite it largely being white colored, wore long flowing capes at their backs and waists, and carried large shields on arms opposite of each other. All of their flesh was completely obscured though one could make out either a glowing red or glowing blue eye peering out of their crown-adorned visors, and one of them wore a breastplate that signified that they were female. In their left arms they brandished straight swords while their right arms held a weapon that almost looked like handheld cannons of some sort.

"_These two individuals fight in tandem with each other,"_ the voice said. _"They are either attacking at the same time or at different intervals than each other to throw their opponents off. You currently cannot defeat either of them in actuality, but here, as long as one of them is defeated they will both retreat. Beware: they will both aggressively defend each other throughout the entire battle. Take them on individually, keep them occupied, and don't let them lower your guard too often. And lastly, __**watch**__**out**__ for the weapons in their __**right**__ hands more than their swords, especially concerning the one in blue colored armor; that is his primary weapon. They cover a lot of distance, are incredibly fast, and they __**will**__ go right through you if they hit."_ Where could they possible get such a weapon? They didn't get much time to wonder as the first blow of the battle had already been dealt; it happened so fast that it barely registered to the female that her male partner was instantly felled in a single shot from the blue knight. She tried to scream out in terror at losing her companion so easily.

"Ooh~, _literal_ shots fired!" the female red knight squealed. "Or, 'shot' fired…whatever. So, how many points do you think that was?"

"Save the banter until after the battle has been won Eve," the male blue knight reprimanded. "There breathes one more enemy before us here. Take her down."

"Aw Adam, why so serious?" the female stuck her tongue out. "Oh well, you always were a buzzkill." Out of her left eye she caught her opponent trying to reach her fallen ally. "Hi there!" she yelled out, catching her foe's attention. "You want to play a really cool game?" She watched their expression turn from nervous to flat-out horror, laughing a little at the sight. "Aw, come on! I promise that it's not going to be nothing particularly nasty like dismemberment or anything like that." That only made the white-haired one freeze in place briefly before running straight to her male counterpart. "Hey, that's not how the game goes!" Those were the last words that she spoke to her enemy before she figured that this whole thing was a killjoy. "You know what? Frick it, this is boring." Much like her blue clad partner she ended the other with a single decisive blow. The white haired woman struggled to move but couldn't feel anything past her neck. Her vision blurred fairly quickly and darkness took her before she could feel the severing of her neck from her body.

"Finally," the blue knight sighed. "That took longer than what it should have…"

"Only because you're a total party pooper!" the red knight pouted. "Really, you could try to spice things up a little more…"

* * *

_**Theme: Dive into the Heart**_

She had awoke in a sudden bolt, the last thing she remembered having haunted her unconsciousness. Her eyes frantically buzzed about in their sockets looking for her friend. She was immensely relieved to see him groggily coming to, holding his head in pain. Remembering how he had been felled she rushed over to him and removed his hand, searching his head for any wounds. She was grateful that she found none and hugged her partner as hard as she could. This confused him as the last thing he remembered was wondering about the right hand weapons before he completely blacked out. At that moment the voice returned to them.

"_That was sorely underwhelming…"_ they groaned. _"Though I suppose that I should have expected the outcome given who I pitted you against. It seems that even in this dream state that they are immensely powerful…"_ The two of them definitely wanted answers for this one-sided match-up. _"Those two warriors – __**Adam**__ and __**Eve**__ – they are powerful entities who are not of this world. Where they hail from I do not know, but I do know that they are exceptionally strong. They share an unbreakable bond with each other and have been alive for countless amounts of time. I pitted apparitions of them against you to test your endurance against those who outclassed you, to see if you could overcome your present limits and triumph, but it seems that I picked the wrong opponents for that battle…"_ And right after the voice promised that it wasn't going to be an emotionally stressful bout, at least it was for the female. _"At least this was in this dream state, where death is temporary for you two. And I doubt that the real Adam and Eve would have reason to kill you in reality. Either way, I suppose that this will suffice enough for you to advance to your Final Awakening…"_ They both jumped up in joy as this meant the end of their slumber; they could finally wake up and meet the real world since they first awakened. From the station they stood on a pathway of light stairs revealed themselves and lead up to another platform higher up. In their glee they raced up the steps to their final destination making it in record time, and turning around to view the way they came from immediately turned their glee into unease. The previous platform they were on could be seen, neither could the stairs that they just climbed.

"_Whatever Awakening Station you were previously standing on disappears once you have completed that stage and have moved on to the next one,"_ the voice said. _"There are no battles to partake in for completion for this Final Awakening. The only things left are my words to impart to you before you are truly awakened, so listen carefully…"_ While listening for the voice to speak up, the floor they stood on also had an image on it. They almost assumed it to be the first portrait from when they first awoke, but it had many twists in it that were different from the first. The scenario was about both of them, but their hair was noticeably more messy and their clothes torn in several places, but that was the least notable feature they had. Tattooed to the front of their faces was the six-eyed sigil from earlier, two extra pairs of eyes, two large horns protruding from their heads, a bony spine running along their backs, flesh partially covered in coal-black scales, sharp talons replacing their nails on hands and feet, and six black wings in the style of angel wings sprouting from their backs. A tail was also spotted on the ends of each of them, and their six eyes appeared halfway open with blood red color. They did not carry either their sword or tome, instead a dark aura pulsated around them both, connected to each other. Behind them was another point of interest. The head of some great dragon appeared behind them, also bearing six red eyes, and from all of the sharp-teethed mouths spewed an ominous smoke of sorts. Two more people were spotted further behind bearing the same outfit and weapons as they previously did, and both bearing the same red eyes. Looking closer the dragon head matched that of the black dragon's from the former station, and that they had all of the distinct features of that dragon. A sickening feeling crept into the duo's collective stomachs; were they the death-bringing black dragon from before?

"_You both are creatures of the darkness,"_ the voice began, _"therefore you must take caution of how much light you receive…Too much will burn away the darkness that you are. This is two-fold in meaning: the physical light itself from the real world can be lethal in very high doses against your unprotected form, which is why you are covered in much clothing to shield your body from it, especially your enchanted coat. With that coat you will have want for no other article of clothing for any other reason, but do take caution to at least wear something else along with it; not much of anyone, either darkness or light, wishes to see your unmentionables free as birds."_ They honestly didn't think they would go that far just to have an excuse to walk around in their birthday suits. _"The second meaning is to beware of those of the light, including Chrom for he too is a creature of light;"_ the voice began explaining again. _"They can be warm and enticing yes, but just as they are delicious to an extent they are also horrible poison if taken in excess, emotional poison. Darkness is generally feared and rejected in the real world while light is uplifted and worshipped. A creature of the dark must be careful with which creatures of the light they decide to mingle with. If not careful it can cause stress for either you or them, which may or may not end in unforgettable tragedy. I am not telling you to avoid the light altogether though, for while the darkness and light cannot change their original composure or add from one onto themselves, they can mix together through bonds and find compromise in the ensuing twilight, which bears the best of both worlds. Lucina is such a creature, one who straddles the fine line between darkness and light. It may be easier to interact with the twilight more than the light for now…"_

This did not answer their question about whether they were that ominous dragon from before seeing as how they were being depicted with its features, but this made up for the lack of an answer for the moment.

"_Another thing of concern is your own matter as creatures of darkness…"_ the voice started. _"While this is true the darkness itself has proven to be something of a wild beast. Such a wild beast dwells within you both, and it is not just the darkness itself; a malevolent daemon with a lust for despair and ruin rests inside of you. They are known as the __**Fell **__**Dragon**__, and they take on the appearance of the great dragon you have seen before."_ So that's why that dragon kept showing up; they were basically a jar containing a giant destructive dragon within them. _"Your own personal mastery of the darkness and your ability to come to terms or tame this dragon will determine how much you can assume the form of the creature. Lesser skill with both of these may result in your own body being stolen from you, and the dragon will attempt to snatch your body away from you at every opportunity they get."_ They could lose their bodies if they failed to control the dark beast inside of them? Just when they thought that Naga's Tear had no hidden surprises for them this comes up. _"Fret not, I will act as your guide even after you awaken from this state, speaking to you in your minds and occasionally taking control of your bodies if I feel that it is necessary. And last but not least, I bear two last warnings for both the light and the darkness before I leave for some time…"_ Right on cue a warm pulsating light sprang to life right at the edge of the station; as the pair got closer to the light their "guide" spoke advice to them that almost went unheeded.

"_The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes…"_ the guide said. Just as the pair were about to touch the light they retracted their hands and snapped around, witness their own shadows already gargantuan in size merge together into a singular piece. This giga-shadow's shape contorted into a phantom form of the dreaded fell dragon, entirely black in body and beady ruby orbs stared back at them with predatory intent. As if it was their nightmares come to life it tore itself from the floor and towered above their puny forms, outstretching its six wings and cutting loose a triumphant roar of freedom. In response the station became flooded with shadowy cesspits, the Risen returning from these pits to feast on their foes. Instinctively the pair pulled out their weapons and made to do battle with these dark imitations of life. Among their figures they spotted an inky black silhouette of Lucina among their numbers, surrounded by many other figures each brandishing their own unique appearances and weapons. None of them had made a single sound, not that they needed to for signaling their attack. The pair charged forth at them and did battle, but quickly learned that these enemies were stronger than they were, smarter than they were, and they knew that they were outnumbered but that point was now hammered into their heads as they could feel the deathly cold arms grasp and claw at them.

"_He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster…"_ the guide's voice rang out in their minds, referring to their vain struggle against the dark ensemble that trapped them. _"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…"_ They tried to scream out to something, someone, to save them from this predicament. They wondered as the darkness was swallowing them up into itself: had they failed to awaken themselves from this slumber? Oh how cold the darkness felt to them now, how they wished that the light would come and rescue them from themselves. They never did catch the name of their guide nor the Fell Dragon who threatened to entomb them. A lone voice echoed throughout their head, though whether it was their guide or someone else was uncertain.

"_I am the wings of despair…I am the breath of ruin…I am the Fell Dragon __**Grima**__…"_ They prayed to whatever Gods were available to deliver them out of this slumber. And it seemed as if their answers would be answered very soon. The light had not truly left them; it began moving on its own and sought out the entrapped duo. From it a voice called out to them.

"No, not you!" it said, desperate to save them. "Fight back!" it commanded. It sounded so familiar…was it…Chrom? Had he come to whisk them away from this sea of darkness? So he hadn't truly left them after all!

"Open your eyes!" his voice rang throughout the nothingness, "OPEN YOUR EYES!" With the last utterance the light itself expanded and covered everything in its radiant dawn, burning away the darkness. The mass shrieked and gnarled as it dissipated entirely. The two snownettes looked as if they were asleep, but their eyes opened and found the man's frame suspended in the air above them.

_**Theme: Id‒Serenity**_

If he was supposed to be their guardian angel he certainly looked the part, with his arm held out for them to grab; they eagerly accepted it and he pulled them up. They floated up towards what appeared to be a sun, with the three of them smiling at each other as bright as that light was. "Welcome back," he said. "It's over now." This nightmarish experience was finally at its end, and the pair were overjoyed that they could finally meet the real world again after quite the few unpleasant trials they had to plow through. Faintly, they could hear their guide whisper their final words to them as they departed. _"Remember…"_

* * *

**_Author's Departure Notes:_**

**_And that concludes the Premonition. It's drastically different from the original and is obviously inspired by Kingdom Heart's Dive into the Heart sections; I figured that that would set the mood for this story a tad better than the one from Awakening proper, but the rest of the story will heavily draw from Awakening's plot itself with a mixture of other franchises to create a different feel (you'll see which franchises I mean with future chapters). The "Themes: " are meant to give the reader (ie you) what each section's mood is almost like a video game; if there is no "Theme: " after a horizontal line than that means there is no music playing setting the mood for that part (of course you can disregard the music if you want). This chapter alone marks several cameo appearances of characters who will have a great deal of importance later on in the story (with temporary OOC moments on Lucina's part I now realize), and there is definitely some foreshadowing going on. Not that I'll let you know if you DO get them right but have fun trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. I WILL tell you if you get any reference found in this chapter right, but ultimately I hope that you liked this entry. This means that I've officially started up my original main entry, so for those that liked the original story that used to be up I hope that you enjoy this revision just as much of not more. This is Blue Sun Studios, signing off of the air!_**


	3. Prologue: The Verge of History Part I

_**Theme: Id (Serenity)**_

"Are they okay?" a masculine voice asked somewhere beyond the darkness.

"I…I don't know," a decidedly more feminine voice replied to the other voice. "I'm trying everything I can, but nothing's doing it so far."

"Well, we can't just leave them here like this, can we?" the masculine voice asked, sounding unwilling to abandon the people of subject.

"It's not a matter of '_can_ we leave them here', Milord," a deeper masculine voice responded. "We are very much capable of simply leaving them here; it is a matter of '_shall_ we leave them here'. Under normal circumstances I myself wouldn't advise doing so, but on the other hand they don't appear to _be_ normal. Their blood is colored the blackest pitch of colors, a sign that they are of fell origins, possibly daemonic ones. And perhaps they may not truly be malignant beings but one can never be too cautious."

"Either way it's in poor character to leave anyone or anything alone to the wayside when they're in sour condition," The first masculine voice spoke. "We're going to—"

"Um, guys?" the feminine voice called. "What're these marks on their hands?"

"By the Gods!" the deeper masculine voice exclaimed in a mixture of fear and revulsion. "Is it true after all…?"

"What's true?" the first masculine voice asked.

"_Uggghhhh…_" a foreign voice groaned out. Light gasps were heard in response to the sound, and the darkness that blanketed everything blinked away a few times as their eyes slowly blinked open. When they were completely open they beheld two people standing over them in their haze of dizziness and drowsiness: a blonde teenaged girl who wore a yellow dress while she held an ornate staff in her hands, and a taller blue-haired man dressed in indigo who stood next to her. This man wasn't just any random man; it was Chrom, the swordsman who rescued them from their nightmares.

"I see that you're awake now," he greeted with a warm smile like the one he wore in their dreams. "Thank the Gods for that, and thanks to you Lissa for trying your best to help." The blonde teenager whom he thanked blushed lightly and giggled in response.

"Aw shucks," she said, "I just did what any good healer would have done. It's not like I could leave them lying here all bloody and broken up." The girl's words had certainly told them why they were unconscious in the first place. Maybe it was from something in their dreams or maybe it was something that was responsible for them falling unconscious in the first place. Looking at the girl better they found that they recognized her from the second Awakening Station's portrait as one of the many people who they would meet once they had fully awakened.

"Either way you have my gratitude for that," Chrom told her. He turned his gaze back to them. "Here, give me your hand," he said, reaching out his arm to them as he did in their dreams twice.

"Keep your distance Milord," the deeper masculine voice said to him. "There's no telling what they'll do."

"Frederick, please," Chrom said while looking at a knight behind him. "Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?" He looked at them and held his hand out towards them again. "I'll help you stand up. It's alright, I won't hurt you." They more than believed Chrom's gentle words to be true, not even hesitating to reach their arm out to grasp his with a smile, but a sharp pain shot into their arm and forced the limb down with a hiss. The pain was enough to draw tears from their eyes as they struggled to move their body, but alas it was in vain as they could not move no matter how hard they tried.

"Can't move huh?" Chrom said. "Not a problem. Lissa, Frederick, we're getting these two into the wagon."

"Is that such a wise idea Milord?" Frederick protested. "I still have my reservations about this entire ordeal." Chrom sighed at this but he kept his cool and continued on.

"I understand that Frederick, but _I'm_ going to help them whether you have misgivings about them or not. If you don't want to assist then fine, I can't force you to and I won't ask you to. But don't try to stop me from doing so; that's an order. And what about you Lissa? Will you help me get these two to the wagon or not?"

"Hmmm…I don't think I'm strong enough to carry one of them by myself," the girl said, "but I'll try."

"Alright then. I've got this one, see if you can get the other. If not, I'll come and help you out after I've gotten this one into the wagon." Chrom wrapped his arms underneath one of the downed duo who hissed in pain from the touch, and when he lifted them into the air they shuddered in agony. "Don't worry friend. I'm here to help," he said to the male figure. They never doubted his words for a second, and while it hurt as Hell they were all the same very grateful for his emotional warmth. As Chrom took care to not injure the stranger when he made his way back to the transport vehicle he noticed Frederick closing in on the other one who was being carried on Lissa's back. "Frederick, what are you—"

"I am assisting you and Milady," the knight spoke plainly. "As much doubts that I have about this, if you will help these two then so will I." Frederick grabbed the female stranger and lifted her off of Lissa's back to some degree, allowing the girl to carry them with little issue.

"Thanks Freddy-bear!" Lissa said to him.

"You are most welcome Milady," Frederick responded. Together the three individuals carried the injured people to their wagon and carefully sat them down on their backs up against some crates. Pillows were not present so the crates would have to make do in the meantime.

"There," Chrom said. "At least you two aren't lying on the ground anymore."

"That's just _one_ issue out of the way though," Lissa said.

"The next issue would be determining who they are," Frederick stated.

"The _next_ issue would be _getting_ _them_ _to_ _a_ _healer_," Chrom shot at Frederick.

"We can very well accomplish both Milord," Frederick responded.

"Then how about we get going already for starters?" Chrom said. The knight did not appear happy to hear that but he complied nonetheless and strode back to his dark mare, returning to his seat atop her and giving her the signal to continue forth. The trio's journey had resumed but with the two wounded strangers in tow. "We'll get the both of you to a healer, then we can figure out what to do about you next." The two strangers felt comfort at the words, managing to smile of all things. Just as they had said in their dreams they knew that they would come to like Chrom.

After a twenty-minute trip the three travelers ended up in a southern town of Ylisse. Their top priority at the moment was to take the wounded to a medic and then stock up on resources before they returned to their home. Some of the townsfolk noticed the trio passing by as well as the injured individuals in the wagon. Everyone who had saw them looked on with a face of disgust, pity, or shock at their predicament. Rounding a corner and walking for another block Chrom and the others happened upon the local priest's clinic. Chrom and Frederick carried both the wounded in to the building and they all looked for the doctor. He was found experimenting with a medicine and as soon as his eyes came upon them he greeted them with a warm smile.

"Hail, travelers!" he said. "How may I be of ser—Good Naga almighty! What happened to these two?"

"We don't know," Chrom said. "We just found them like this on our way here and stopped here as soon as we could."

"I tried healing them," Lissa told the sage, "but nothing worked; not even the elixir I had on me had any lasting or major effect."

"I see…Come inside my office, I'll see if I can do something, _anything_." Inside of the sage's office were several different elixirs and tomes ready for use. Both of the strangers were laid down on the table so that both could fit and the sage leaned in close to inspect their wounds, but he couldn't figure out much with their clothing still on.

"Excuse me?" the sage asked them. "Is it alright if I remove your clothing? I can't necessarily check for wounds with them on. If you don't feel comfortable with that then I won't force you." He waited for the two to respond, and after a while they tried to speak up.

"S-Sure…" the male said.

"I guess that there's…no harm…" the female agreed. Right at that moment their guide returned in full force nearly shrieking in their minds.

_**'****Do not do it you fools!'**_ their guide said to them. _**'Do you remember what I have told you about the light!?'**_ At first neither of them remembered, but then the words came back to them. They were in a very bright room after all, and they did not want to test exactly how badly they could be burned.

"A-Actually…" the male called out, "is it possible for you to turn off that bright light first?"

"Oh, er, sure," the sage said. He turned off the bright light at the man's request and the room became fairly dark as a result. The window itself was covered by a curtain so there was a complete lack of light in the room, not that it was especially dark.

"My goodness, this room sure is dark," the sage noted. "There needs to be _some_ light in…here…" The doctor and the others in the room stared in awe at the now glowing individuals whose wounds shone with a bright violet light. They themselves noticed the oddity as were and eyed their injuries in the same light.

_**'****The first lesson you shall learn about the darkness,'**_ the guide spoke to their "pupils", _**'is that the darkness – when taken in moderation – is one of your greatest allies…Observe…'**_ Almost as if acting on the guide's command the injuries shone brighter, enough to bathe the entire office under a violet light. Shortly afterwards, every present party looked on in surprise at the sight before them; the patients' bodies were healing themselves. _**'This ability allows you to heal your body from all blights or illnesses at a considerable pace while you are enshrouded in the dark. I call it "Dark Recovery", a preliminary level into the more advanced stages.'**_ In little-to-no time at all any slight upon their forms aside of the bloodstains was completely gone, almost as if they were never there. They moved their arms to inspect themselves and that was when they realized that they could finally more their body on their own for the first time.

"Well," the sage began saying, "I guess that I _didn't_ need a light on after all." Cautiously the pair made to stand on their feet and looked at themselves. Apparently the "Dark Recovery" had done more than just fix them up; they felt some of their strength returning to them and it felt as if they were in their Dive to the Heart again. They realized that the darkness wasn't so bad after all and turned to the others with bright smiles on their faces.

"Well, we seem to have gotten that issue out of the way," Frederick stated. "With that I believe that we must be on our way."

"I apologize that I couldn't be of much help to you," the sage said.

"Don't be," Chrom told him. "You couldn't have known that that would happen."

"Yeah!" Lissa said chirping in. "Who would've thought that they heal in dark places?"

"Perhaps others like them," Frederick answered. "Either way we thank you for your hospitality." With no more words being spoken the group of five left the sage's pharmacy and made their way to a café at Chrom and Lissa's request. Despite having been unconscious for quite some time neither of the two individuals were hungry; they theorized that it was due to the powers of darkness that filled them up. Once the group were settled down Frederick wasted no time in firing off the questions he had for them.

"Now that we have the two of you at full health and focusing capacity, I would like to ask the two of you some questions," Frederick began. "First and foremost, do you remember anything that had transpired to render you near-dead to the wayside?"

"If you can then maybe we can locate the perpetrator," Chrom added before sipping on his coffee. The three travelers watched the two strangers with interest as the latter appeared to be deep in thought. Both of them dug around their memories for any answer that they could find, but they didn't find anything explaining their downed state. Bothersome as it was they moved on to remember what had happened before the event, only to find the same predicament there as well. The worry on their faces were evident as they continued searching for any memory that could tell them how they ended up to the road unconscious; aside of their dream there was nothing to be found.

"Having memory troubles?" Chrom asked them.

"Looks like it," the male replied disappointed.

"I can't remember anything…" the female said under her breath.

"Neither of you two can remember anything?" Chrom asked again. "Not even how the two of you got here?"

"Nothing's coming up for me," the male said. "Other than the dream I had, everything else is blank."

"A dream you say?" Frederick asked. "How suspicious…"

"How long exactly have we been out cold?" the female asked.

"Beats me," Chrom answered. "We just found the two of you today and when we did you were out for a few minutes."

"Your wounds looked fresh though," Lissa said munching on her cinnamon roll. "I'd estimate that they were at least a couple of hours old. To be honest we didn't think that we could save the two of you; you had a nasty gash in the back of your heads when I checked, so I'm guessing that that's probably why nothing's coming to you."

"The man said that he remembers a dream," Frederick stated. "Pray tell, what exactly was this dream about?"

"You had a dream too?" the female asked. "What was it about?"

"It was about some destiny of ours," the male said. "Some voice spoke of light and darkness, as well as put us through some 'Awakening' trials."

"You had that dream too?" the female asked in surprise.

"That's odd," Chrom said. "Both of you had the same dream? What a coincidence."

"A coincidence indeed," Frederick spoke not fully buying their story. "Two people claim to not remember anything from before we found them except for a single dream that they shared. If anything that warrants more suspicion from you two."

"But it's true!" the male protested. "The voice even told us that we would meet you guys when we awoke."

"Really?" Chrom asked. "Huh. When you put it like that it all sounds less like a dream and more like a premonition."

"A premonition?" the female asked. "As in a vision of something like that?"

"Precisely," Chrom said. "A premonition details events yet to come, whether they be good or bad. I'm assuming that you must have had the premonition after you fell unconscious to whatever attacked you."

"That's almost exactly what happened in our dreams," the male said. "You came to us and asked us a question about putting others before ourselves. After we answered yes you suddenly disappeared."

"And that was just one of the many things that happened," the female added. "Would you like for us to tell you the whole thing?"

_**'****Do **_**not**_** tell them everything,'**_ the enigmatic guide said to the strangers. _**'Omit all details concerning your connection to the Fell Dragon Grima.'**_

"That would be preferable," Frederick answered. "Do tell everything that you know, and withhold _no_ information."

_**'****I repeat and emphasize, do **_**not**_** tell **_**any**_** of them of your connection to the Fell Dragon,'**_ the guide restated. _**'It **_**will**_** make things **_**significantly**_** harder for you.'**_ Looking the three in their eyes with as much a serious expression they could muster they went on to summarize the content of their dreams.

"It started when a mysterious voice had called out to us," the male began. "They told the two of us that we had to undergo the Awakening, a process of five events to return to the real world, and they said to us that they would be our guide in doing so."

"First they made us chose between ten different relics to keep one and discard one," the female explained. "They were the Seraph Robe, Energy Drop, Spirit Dust, Secret Book, Speedwing, Goddess Icon, Draco Shield, Talisman, Boots, and Arms Scroll."

"All of those are real world artifacts that augment a person's body further," Chrom stated. "I've never heard of a situation where you choose one and abandon the other. It just doesn't make sense to me."

"That's exactly what we thought," the male said. "The guide worded it as if by picking an artifact in our dream state we were choosing which aspect of our bodies we treasured most, and the one we cast away represented what we gave little care for. Obviously we cared about all of them and they gave us the Naga's Tear as a result for persisting. They said that the Naga's Tear granted one godlike power."

"Godlike power?" Frederick questioned with a raised brow. "I can see great power beyond that of many men, but Godlike power? That notion alone is pretentious."

"Frederick, please," Chrom said. "That's not something impossible or out of the ordinary. You may continue."

"After that the guide had us fight some hostiles to test our might, including some sorcerer he called 'Validar'," the female said. "When that was done we found ourselves in a field of flowers, and that was where we met you."

"Me?" Chrom asked.

"Yes, you," the male said. "You helped us to our feet and asked that question. After that you vanished, and then we found a woman who actually looked a lot like you."

"Really," Chrom said clearly fascinated. "What was her name?"

"Her name was Lucina," the female told him. "She had long blue hair that was the same color as yours, and the mark you have on your right shoulder is in her left eye. We thought that she might be related to you."

"Lucina's the name I plan to give to my first daughter," Chrom said. "Perhaps who you saw was my daughter from some point in the future."

"Wouldn't be too far off the mark," the male said. "She sure didn't look happy though…neither did she look particularly lively…" Hearing this Chrom began to fear for the worst. "She asked us a question as to whether we would give up our lives for the ones we loved if it meant saving them, and we said yes. We went to comfort her before she said that she could rest easy. That was when…" For a brief moment it looked as if would the male stranger would choke on his words but he pressed on. "That was when she died…" There was uncomfortable silence hanging in the air for some time until the female spoke up.

"After she died we tried to save her and came upon a strange woman dressed in dark robes. She told us that we could save her if we believed in 'Invisible Ties'…"

"This is starting to sound less of a premonition and more of a fantasy fiction," Frederick said. "Gods above know how many of those I've read in my time."

"That's enough quips from you Frederick," Chrom said to the knight. "That's an order. Please do continue you two."

"Right," the male said. "We said to her that we believed in 'Invisible Ties'. She said that with that belief in mind we could save Lucina from her fate of staying dead, but she took her away before we could ask her how. The last thing she said to us was her name, 'Akasha, Queen of the Damned', before telling us that we would meet again."

"'Akasha, Queen of the Damned'?" Frederick asked. "That was the name and title of the first matriarch of the Theocracy of Plegia. Legends have it that she commanded a vast horde of daemons from Hell in her bid to subjugate the rebelling Plegians, and that she herself had become a revenant after her death."

"She sure looked like a corpse," the female noted. "After she had left we were given more enemies to fight against, but these enemies were the revived remains of the hostiles we slew before. The guide called them 'Risen'."

"Like zombies?" Lissa asked.

"More or less," the male said. "Validar resurfaced for a rematch, but he was dealt with fairly easily. The next of our opponents after that was…"

"…Was whom exactly?" Frederick asked. Chrom had a feeling that he knew who it was, and he spoke up to break the silence the two strangers were giving him.

"It was Lucina was it?" he asked. Both of the strangers nodded their heads.

"She had become a Risen," the female said with a noticeable crack in her voice, "attacking us for not being able to save her from dying…It was all just a dream but it felt too real…" Again it became quiet, with the strangers trying to refrain from becoming emotional. The others respectfully waited until they were calmed down before resuming the conversation.

"After that fight we were pitted against two powerful knights named 'Adam' and 'Eve'," the male said. "I honestly thought that we would be able to put up a fight, but they got the jump on us before we could even plan an attack strategy."

"The guide wanted to test us, but they apparently chose the wrong opponents to test us against," the female said. "After that they imparted some words of wisdom to watch out for certain things that would try to kill us, right before our own shadow had transformed into a giant dragon. More Risen appeared, but they were too strong and there were too many of them. We thought that we were never going to wake up as darkness began swallowing us up, until you came back and saved us."

"Me?" Chrom asked.

"Yes, you," the male said. "It was as if you banished the darkness away and pulled us back into the light. And that is the general gist of the dream we had."

"An interesting dream to be sure," Frederick said, "but what exactly does it all mean?"

"We don't exactly know either," the female replied. "Our guide said that our paths would be intertwined with each other's, but they never specified what that entailed. Anyways, with that out of the way, is there anything else you want to ask us about?"

"Not really," Frederick said sounding slightly disappointed. "I had hoped that your memories were intact aside of this premonition of yours, but that's not the case. I suppose that that concludes this discussion."

"Don't sound so forlorn," the male said. "The moment we remember anything we'll be sure to tell you. How does that sound?"

"I think it sounds reasonable," Chrom said. "But that's assuming that we'll remain in contact with each other."

"Exactly," the female said. "We really don't have anywhere else to go, and you guys _did_ save our lives. Why not repay that debt by travelling with you and seeing what we can do for you all?"

"You'd really do that?" Lissa asked. "But, you guys don't really know us."

"That's not a problem," the male said. "You all seem like trustworthy people."

"Alright then," Chrom said with a chuckle. "You can come with us to Ylisstol – our home – after we stock up on a few supplies from here…um, you never did mention your names did you?"

"Huh? Oh, right," the female said, "I completely forgot about that. Well, since we don't know what our names are, why not invent something to call us by until then?" As the two strangers tried digging up names their guide's voice returned with a suggestion.

_**'Why not call the both of you **_**"Robin"**_**?'**_ they said. _**'You both hold no differences from each other aside of your sex, and your destinies are unequivocally one and the same, so it holds more meaning to refer to you with the same name.'**_ They didn't think that it was a bad choice and figured that they were probably twins anyways, so they chose the name.

"Why not Robin for the both of us?" the male said.

"Are you certain?" Frederick asked. "Referring to two individuals with one name can lead to confusion."

"It sounds nice," the female said. "Plus, Robin is a unisex name and we do look like we're twins."

"I don't think it's a bad idea," Lissa said.

"It seems fine enough to me," Chrom said in agreement.

"If there are no objections then 'Robin' it is," Frederick said. "Now then, I do believe formal introductions on our end would be appropriate."

"My name's Chrom Lowell," Chrom said. "I am the captain and founder of the Shepherds, a force dedicated to defending Ylisse from all threats."

"I'm Lissa Lowell," Lissa said. "My full name is actually Elizabeth Melissa Lowell, but you can just call me Lissa or Liz for short, I'm fine with whichever. And don't let my cute looks fool you into thinking I'm delicate. I'm pretty capable myself."

"And I am Frederick Berenstain," Frederick spoke. "I am the lieutenant and second-in-command of the Shepherds army. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"He's also known as 'Frederick the Wary'," Chrom said with a hint of humor.

"A title I shall wear with pride," the knight said. "Gods forbid one of us must maintain a reasonable level of caution."

"And general distrust," Chrom added.

"And uptightness," Lissa added.

"You _do_ realize that I _am_ still here?" Frederick asked the other two.

"Oh, we realize," Chrom said grinning. This earned a laugh from Lissa and the Robins.

"Amusing as always Milord," Frederick said with no change in tone. "Now if you will all excuse me, I will go procure the supplies we need for the rest of our journey and—"

"Hey," the male Robin said, "Do any of you guys smell that?" No one knew what he was talking about until it hit them too.

"I smell it too," the female Robin said. "It actually smells like—"

_**Theme—"Gods, have the Risen spread this far?"**_

"FIRE!" Lissa screamed out. They looked at the cleric point off further up north and saw a cloud of smoke rising. Everyone else nearby had been thrown into a panic upon seeing the sight and ran, leaving the five travelers alone.

"What in the seven Hells…" Chrom muttered. "Lissa, Frederick, whatever's behind this needs to be dealt with immediately! Expect it to be a brigand attack!"

"What about us?" the male Robin asked. "I mean, we're armed just in case its brigands and I'm pretty sure that we can handle ourselves in a fight."

"Are you sure about that?" Chrom asked him. "You may have fought in your dreams but that doesn't account for your skill in the real world."

"We must be at our full strength by now," the female Robin argued. "Besides, if we aren't skilled then we can learn from the rest of you firsthand or back out if it gets too rough." Nobody could find anything to say against that despite how adverse they were to this.

"Alright, you can come with us," Chrom said, "but I want you to fall back if things get too out of hand. Understand?"

"Understood," both Robins said with a nod.

"Can we please go already?" Lissa said impatiently. Not wanting to keep anyone waiting the group of five ran towards the burning area, hoping to dowse the flames in time and find out the cause of it.


	4. Prologue: The Verge of History Part II

_**Theme – Gods, have the Risen spread this far?**_

Chrom and company were not liking what they were seeing: more than half of the area was ablaze and dozens of battered bodies littered the streets, making the quintet suspect a brigand attack responsible for it. Confirming their suspicions almost on cue was the sight of ten ruffians ransacking everything in sight, breaking into various buildings and quickly making it out before lighting them up. The display was nothing short of sickening to the five travelers, with each one but Lissa drawing their weapons out for the inevitable skirmish. Soon a portly man was seen dragging a bound and gagged maiden out from her home before carelessly tossing a torch inside it, smiling with sleazy intent.

"_Gyahh_ ha ha har!" the man laughed as the others turned to him. "Dat's good 'nuff lads; wrap it up and let's scoot on outta 'ere! We've overstayed our welcome 'ere and dere's lots more booty t' plunder elsewhere if ya' catch mah drift." The gang murmured among themselves in agreement, making to hightail it out of the town until Chrom decided that he had enough.

"You brigands aren't going anywhere but into the ground!" Chrom shouted at the fleeing party, all of whom flinched and stopped at the sound of his voice. Each brigand slowly turned around to face the prince, and all but their leader nearly panicked upon seeing Chrom with company.

"_Shit_, it's Chrom, and he's got Frederick with him too…" one of the brigands said. "We're all gonna get slaughtered out here." The Robins noticed how the brigands' malice had gave way to outright fear once Chrom came into the picture; the man was clearly a well-enough-known or at least infamous figure judging from the brigands' reactions to him. Chrom certainly displayed a lack of fear when confronting the brigands as well, showing experience in dealing with them before. The only person one who wasn't afraid of Chrom was the apparent leader of the gang, and he stepped forward with an insincere grin on his face.

"Why, if it ain't de lord o' destruction himself," the portly man spoke. "Ah see 'e's got 'is two backup dancers wit' 'im. Ahm honored t' have such a great figure in mah presence. Th' name's Garrick."

"Save your condescension for the afterlife criminal," Chrom said in a venomous tone. "I've seen enough here to have you all either executed or locked away for life, but I'd rather save the court the trouble and take you all out myself."

"You an' what, yer little circus o' clowns?" The man laughed at Chrom and company which prompted his men to nervously do the same. "The only thing 'ere that can remotely do jack squat t' me an' mah men is that walkn' garbage can you call yer lieutenant."

"Laugh all you want," Frederick said, "it will be the last laughs you will have in this mortal plane."

"I wudn't be so sure o' dat. See dis here lassie?" The man dragged the squirming maiden hostage to his front, kneeling down to get his threat across. "Now I don' wanna hafta cut 'er up; she's d' finest piece o' meat dat I'd ever seen, but since you—"

"We get it; we try to stop you and you'll kill her," Lissa said in disgust. "Can you brigands possibly be less of the rape-y, pillage-y, and burn-y types?"

"Nope. So, we's got a deal?" The Robins looked to their new companions; they all still looked the same though they weren't immediately closing in on the brigand group anymore. From the looks of things they clearly weren't going to let the brigands get away. "I forgots t' mention; you lot so much as takes a single step without agreen' to mah terms an' she gets it." Right then and there was when the Ylisseans' faces became tenser; the man had his axe's blade at the maiden's throat, ready to slit her open at a moment's notice. They looked to each other before their guide returned to them.

_**'Robin…'**_ it began saying addressing both Robins, _**'the darkness is more than just a supportive agent in your lives; it also serves as a very useful combat applicant with proper skill. With enough practice you will have want for no other weapon. To begin, look at your shadows.'**_ The two did as instructed and their eyes fell on their shadows. _**'Look at where your shadow ends…'**_ The Robins eyes trailed up to Garrick where the top of their shadow stopped slightly above his gut. _**'You have the ability to perform a variant of the "Shadow's Touch". It is a technique that allows you to make physical contact with anything that your shadow touches by focusing on the object and motioning your body across distances to act. Grabbing things is no option for now, but at the very least you can strike that man. Disarm yourself first and strike him bare handed.'**_ The Robins nodded and pulled out whatever weapons they had and laid them on the ground while kneeling in a sign of surrendering, causing the three others to cast a worried look towards them.

"Um, what are you guys doing?" Chrom asked.

"Don't tell me that you're surrendering already?" Frederick said sounding annoyed.

"Well, looks like we got two o' dem to call it quits," Garrick chuckled. What about the rest o' ya? Ya gonna follow yer friends' example?" Garrick glared with a wide grin on his face and took to stand, shifting his attention from the Robins to the Shepherds, and that's when the amnesiacs reared their hands back.

_**'****Now, strike‼'**_ the mysterious guide bellowed. The white-haired pair threw out a fist as hard and as fast as they could, watching as their shadows aimed their punches at the brigand leader's gut. Suddenly Garrick howled in pain while staggering backward a bit. Before anyone could notice them they returned to their kneeling position.

"What in de—who did dat‽" Garrick angrily shouted. He scanned the entire area looking for the perpetrator, failing to see the Robins' smiles. The maiden noticed their faces and wondered how they could have struck him.

_**'****Again‼' the mysterious voice commanded. 'Rise to your feet and strike him in his face!'**_ The pair did as commanded and reared their hands for another punch, though Garrick caught them in the act this time.

"You…! You de rats dat hit me, ain't ya‽" Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa looked to the Robins who remained smirking at Garrick. Again they let their fists fly through the air, watching as their shadows made contact with the bandit's head. The man was sent reeling quite a ways away, losing his grip on the maiden who promptly took the chance to run behind the Shepherds as soon as possible. The gang members ran toward their leader to make sure he was fine as the Shepherds stared in shock and awe of the Robins' act, though Frederick appeared very suspicious of the duo.

"How on earth did you two hit him from there?" Chrom asked.

"A little something that our guide just taught us," the female Robin said. "Pretty neat trick eh?"

"It allows us to touch anything so long as our shadow is touching something," the male Robin explained. "The guide called it the 'Shadow's Touch'."

"That's…very interesting…"

"Very interesting indeed," Frederick said. "Pray tell, does this 'Shadow's Touch' relate to the spectacle we witnessed back at the clinic?"

"You dirty rats!" came Garrick's enraged voice. "Now you dun goofed! Boys, take care o' dem!" The man angrily pointed at the duo who decked him twice from several yards away, but his men didn't seem to be in the mood for any combat. Though the Shepherds were geared to go the brigands were hesitant to fight against someone who—to their knowledge—could hit them from out of the air. Garrick noticed this and grew more irate at his men's fear. "What're ya' dogs waitn' fer? Get dem!" Still no action from any of his men, so Garrick upped the ante with a little motivation. "Either ya' dogs trash dem Shepherds or Ah'll be killn' ya' mahself! So, whatzit gon' be?" He brandished his short axe and menaced a step toward his own group, placing them in a tough situation. Several of them considered turning on him and making and simply deal with punishment at Chrom's hands but Garrick was their leader for a reason; he was better than them even when ganged up on. They frantically glanced back and forth between the rock and the hard place they were stuck between, contemplating their fate and actually wishing they hadn't agreed to ransack the town in the first place. "Ya' got ten secns' boys, and I ain't countn' slow neither! Nine, eight, seven, six, fi—" Just then one of the myrmidon bandits charged at the Robins who stood confidently in their spot, but the moment they prepared to swing at him with their swords he froze dead in his tracks. It didn't take long for him to back up away from them in fear, though he didn't last long after that; whizzing past the other bandits' heads was Garrick's short axe flying straight toward the man's head, nailing him in the back and dropping him almost instantly. The man's death – though brought upon himself – brought disgust to the Shepherds and terror to the remaining brigands.

"He just killed one of his own…" the male Robin muttered.

"I didn't actually think he'd follow through on the threat…" the female Robin whispered.

_**'****He is a ruthless criminal who cares not for the lives of others…'**_ the mysterious guide told the pair. _**'Nothing will faze him. It's best if you dispose of him as soon as possible so that you can move on with the rest of your journey. Take charge of the situation; lead the others to victory.'**_

_'But, we haven't actually—'_

_**'****Just do it. You both have a natural talent to lead and to lead efficiently with tactics. Trust me…'**_

_'_…_Right…'_ the duo said in unison before turning to their comrades.

_**Theme – Prelude (Ablaze)**_

"Listen up guys," the male Robin spoke before his female counterpart took over for him. "We're going to have to play this one smart if we're going to win. These guys are starting to look less and less hesitant to fight us and more like they'd kill us without a second thought."

"We already know that last part," Chrom said annoyance. "We were more or less going to fight them all anyways."

"Me and Milord are capable of defending ourselves," Frederick said, "although Milady can't because of her status as a healer. As it seems you two are quite capable of defending yourselves." The Robins didn't know whether or not Frederick's words were a compliment, focusing on the enemies who scampered about to form a battle stance. Garrick on the other hand was very insistent on retreating.

"Hey, get back here!" Chrom shouted. He attempted to catch up to the fleeing man but a few of his lackeys stayed behind and barred his path. They attempted to run the man through at once but a bolt of lightning magic from behind Chrom blasted one of the crooks away. With the opening he needed Chrom drew out his sword and dashed toward the remaining barbarian in his way; the man drew forth his iron axe and parried a swing from Chrom, immediately attempting to tear his head off in one go. The bluenette commander wasn't thrown off so easily though, and he quickly dodged the barbarian's swipe at him; he darted into the other man's sides with his sword before backing out. He dove in for another strike but the brigand barely sidestepped him and shot his leg out at his back. Again the barbarian went for another attack but he wasn't fast enough to catch the Shepherd commander before he could roll out of harm's way. Chrom still laid on the ground but only to trip his opponent up with a sweep kick; Chrom readied his sword once again and promptly drove it through the axeman's heart. He looked to the rest of his comrades who were apparently talking to the Robin.

"Frederick, would you mind if we had you take on those two swordsmen over that way?" the male Robin asked.

"We'll keep Lissa covered here with our swords and magic so don't worry about her so much," the female Robin assured the great knight.

"Hmph, as you say," the man snorted. "I will hold you to your words so keep that in mind." _'Those two are certainly taking charge of this situation here quite well,'_ he thought to himself as his horse bolted toward a myrmidon. _'Perhaps they were some sort of tacticians before their amnesia? Or perhaps there's something they're hiding from me…I'll have to keep a close eye on those two, especially with milord and milady so trusting toward them…'_ The great knight pulled out his silver lance and tried to spear the bandit in one shot, but the swordsman saw the attack coming and quickly dodged. His counterattack turned out to be simple bark with no bite as his iron sword had negligible power put behind it. The only damage the attack mounted to was chipping a small piece of the great knight's armor, looking at his lack of strength in shock; Frederick's horse turned to face the bandit with as much of a grin he could manage right before his rider suddenly lashed out at the bandit, impaling him on his silver lance. The unfortunate soul dropped his weapon and struggled to remove the weapon in him but Frederick hoisted him into the air, placing considerable strain on him. Frederick pulled the myrmidon so close to his face that the man could feel the disdain felt for him through his breath. "This could have been avoided had you not decide to be a criminal. Perhaps as you pass on will you feel some semblance of regret over your actions here." The bandit looked pitiful: scared out of his mind and in intense pain while prolonging his eventual death by trying to free himself. All of that ceased after the Shepherd retracted his weapon from the man watching as he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. "*sigh* No matter how many brigands we rout these days it always seems like there's two more to take their place, turning more dangerous than their predecessors."

Frederick turned his attention to the Robins who were rapid-firing small bolts of lightning at a barbarian advancing toward them, with Lissa standing right behind the pair. In an inversion, the brigand seemed to speed up the more damage he sustained, breaking into a full sprint as soon as he got close. He was just about to dash over to Lissa's aid when it looked as though the Robins would be run through, but he didn't have to thanks to the Robins pulling their bronze swords out. Just as they had done earlier the Robins appeared to be attacking the brigand from yards away, though Frederick could see their shadows making contact with the barbarian. They slowly advanced as to not lose their huge range advantage, and in a matter of seconds the barbarian had suffered enough tangible damage to cease fighting. Down he went in his own blood pool from numerous wounds, making Frederick wonder how the Robins could possibly inflict real wounds from merely their shadows touching another person.

"Wow, that was amazing you two!" Lissa chimed as she congratulated the duo.

"Thanks," the male responded.

"Though you should probably thank our guide too," the female said. "He's the one who taught us how to do that, at least I think it's a 'he'."

"Oh really? Where is he? I don't see him."

"I'd say he's resting in our conscience. You probably won't be able to hear him then. He'll hear you though."

"Oh alright. Thanks invisible mystery guide I'll never get the chance to meet!" The Robins heard the immediate snort from their guide, laughing at smiling at his apparent annoyance.

_**'****If you are finished having your laughs, you have company to the west,'**_ the guide told the two. In the west direction was a mage charging up his elthunder tome to strike his foes down. The Robins began charging their own magic to counter the incoming attack. Meanwhile from the bridge that lead to the outskirts, Garrick and the remainder of his men were searching the area for any feasible escape routes, only coming up short since they had been barricaded off following their rampage.

"Not a single route that'll get us outta here," the barbarians said. "We're basically sitting ducks bossman." The news didn't sit well with the bandit leader who snapped at his subordinate.

"Whaddya mean dere's no getn' outta 'ere‽" the man roared. "We's findn' a way out by bustn' a way out!"

"We've already tried doing that," the mage said. "The Ylisseans are more resourceful than what we pegged them for."

"You's jus not hittn' hard 'nuff! You's already hit like a girl anyways!" The mage scowled at the remark but kept his anger in check as his leader paced about.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to just find some place to hide until the Ylisseans tire themselves out?" came the suggestion from a myrmidon.

"Who sed anydn 'bout hidn'? We fighters, not pansies! Or are ya' scared o' getn' wuppd?"

"_I'm_ not scared. In fact, the only reason I followed you out here was—"

"Ah, put a sock in it already." A vein in the myrmidon's head bulged in anger at the barbarian's dismissal, and the other brigands began shooting dirty looks at their leader. "Welp, if we ain't gon' nowhere, den I guess we's gon' hafta take down de Shepherds ourselves. 'Course, y'all's gon' up first; gotta put yer leader's well ben' 'fore yerselves ya' know."

"Or you could try to take the Shepherds on yourself, setting an example for your me—" the mage talking was shut up by the abrupt hacking into his sides from his leader, wearing a fierce snarl on his face.

"Did I say you could talk back to me?" the man said, for once speaking properly. "I gave you all an order and I swear by my ma's grave that you're gonna do it. You don't want to end up like that lily-assed punk I struck down back there would you?" The mage frantically nodded his head in a "no" manner in spite of his new injury, gasping out after the short axe in him was ripped out. The other men slowly backed away from their leader, put off by his frequent use of violence to keep them in line. "You only got about a few measly hours to live if you don't find yourself a healer after this, 'cause after we're finished up here you are officially _out_. You understand me?" The mage was too pained to make a verbal response so he settled for head nodding again. "Good. Now all of you, get your asses out there and take them pasty Ylisseans down. I don't want to see _any_ of them so much as breathing at all when you get back." The barbarian and one of the myrmidons hurried on ahead while the remaining myrmidon in a show of good faith carried his teammate across his shoulder. Garrick continued to watch on with an intense scowl on his face as his men marched toward certain doom. As the four walked they began to lament their position.

"This bites," said the myrmidon carrying the mage. "Why can't that fatass do this shit himself? I think he's more scared of getting punched out of the air than the rest of us."

"Yeah," the mage said. "That sounds like Garrick alright."

"What's the hold-up you two?" the barbarian asked. "Oh…never mind."

"It's alright," the mage said. "Stupid me talking back at Garrick."

"Don't feel bad man," the myrmidon said. "Hey, wait a minute, I just thought about something: will someone tell me exactly _what_ we're doing here?" At that the group came to a complete stop, realizing that they were potentially just sent to go die while their leader could possibly be planning to escape as they spoke. "You know what, I doubt that Garrick's going to bother coming after us. Why don't we just hightail it out of here while we still can?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, Garrick's probably trying to escape again isn't he?" the barbarian said in realization."

"He's already done that to us several times before," the other myrmidon ahead of the group said. "I bet you that he's doing it again right now. If he's not going to stick around then what's the point of following his orders anymore? Hell, he'll probably forget all about us unless we go after him. This is our chance to escape."

"Yeah!" the myrmidon with the mage said. "Screw Garrick! I'm sick of doing this shit because he says so! I'm going to start over and finally get a job!" The others started cheering for the myrmidon's declaration until they heard their mage comrade hack up a large amount of blood. "Oh, well, we should get you to a healer first. I doubt this town's doctors'll do anything for you though."

"Th-thanks man," the mage said. "By the way, I just realized that I never caught any of you guys' names."

"Huh? Oh, the name's Tamás," the myrmidon said. "What's yours?"

"Gudada," the mage replied. "What about you two?"

"Name's Harman," the barbarian said.

"And mine's Mircea," the other myrmidon said.

"Great. Now let's get out of here before—"

"Before _what?_" Chrom's voice came. Slowly the group turned around to face the last people they wanted to go up against. Chrom took a menacing step toward the would-have-been ex-convicts, making them back away apprehensively. "I don't exactly remember saying that any of you were getting away scott-free; you _will_ answer for your crimes here." Just as soon as the brigands had plans of escape and starting over, their dreams had been summarily shattered. Harman and Mircea brandished their weapons as Chrom inched closer, and Tamás held a tighter grip on Gudada. It was just then that Chrom caught the injured mage held up by his comrade behind the other two brigands, simple curiosity getting the better of him. "What exactly do you plan to do with your injured ally?" The foremost brigands were brought back to the reality of their friend's situation, and noticing their worry Chrom decided to seize the moment. "How about this: you don't seem to be too willing to fight, so if you all surrender without a fight then I will see to it that your friend over there gets some medical attention."

"Us, surrender?" Harman asked. "I'd rather not. _We'll_ find him a healer that will—"

"You know that you can't do that; you're not escaping while I'm around. So you have the options of incarceration through surrender or death through otherwise."

"We don't surrender to Ylisseans…" Gudada's strained voice came. "We'll never surrender to the likes of you. You can kill me if you dare; death is starting to seem more preferable than spending a day in your prisons." The mage's teammates looked at him as if to dissuade him from the decision if only for his own sake.

"Dying or fear of imprisonment tends to make you suicidal you know," Chrom spoke. "But if you really wish to resist arrest then—"

"Hold up Chrom," the male Robin said.

"Let us talk to them for a bit," the female Robin said. The man looked to them with a hint of surprise but remained guarded against the brigands who would likely try to lash out at his newest allies. Nevertheless he relented, stepping back as the snownettes approached the brigands.

"This may be a repeat of what Chrom said," the male Robin began, "but we'll spare your lives if you choose to yield the battle. You will face a sentence for your crimes but it's not the end of the line once you do."

"You all will have another chance to reform yourselves and live a life away from banditry," the female Robin explained. "Doesn't that sound much better than facing whatever punishment awaits you in the afterlife? You can die to avoid jail time now but you'll get your due sooner or later, and you may never get the chance to make up for the things you did and start over. And just as a reminder, your friend there doesn't have much more time to decide before he bites it." Chrom and the other Shepherds looked impressed at how the Robins remained calm and informative, even giving the criminals an incentive to turn themselves in.

"It's not too late to make a change for the better," the male Robin said reaching his hand out in a friendly gesture.

"Whatever issues you have will be worked out," the female Robin said mimicking her male counterpart. "Promise." The female Robin even attempted a smile to appear genuine; it was easy to _be_ such when you already _were_. The brigands remained tense but it seemed as though the Robins' tactics were working on them. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick looked on in surprise, amazement, and mild interest respectively. As if the Robins needed to do anything else Gudada hacked up another wet cough, signaling his approaching demise; this had the other brigands look to each other on whether or not they were seriously considering what they were about to do. As much as they detested the Ylisseans, they knew full well the afterlife was very much a thing and they really did want to start over. Harman and Mircea shot Tamás and Gudada something of an apologetic look before they turned their attention to the Shepherds, dropping their weapons to the ground. The Robins gave the two men a nod of approval before their guide's voice returned to them.

_**'****You truly wish to apprehend these criminals in spite of the fact that you had personally contributed to two of their comrades' deaths? Interesting choice; nevertheless your serenity in the situation is admirable. This will certainly boost your trust with Chrom and the others…However, it doesn't appear that you have anything to properly apprehend the criminals. Naturally, I have a solution for this.'**_

_'You just have a solution to everything don't you?'_ the male Robin asked the guide.

_**'****Not **_**everything.**_** There is a binding technique called **_**"Shadow Hold".**_**'**_

_'_Another_ darkness-based technique?'_ the female Robin asked. _'Just how many more of those do we have?'_

_**'****Theoretically infinite thanks to your status as creatures of the dark and the many applications of darkness. Anyways, **_**"Shadow Hold"**_** allows you to reach into one's physical shadow and sacrifice portions of it to create a rope to bind something. Reaching deep into the shadows will yield more powerful ropes, but this also leaves you less shadow to manipulate…'**_ The Robins nodded and returned to reality; the brigands had all stepped forward by the time the Shepherds were ready to arrest them. Seeing how the group's collective shadows were facing them it made it easier for Chrom and the others to see what they were doing. The two Robins reached into one bandit's shadows and felt their hands sink into a thick inky substance rather than solid ground.

"Ew…" female Robin groaned. She and male Robin pulled their hands out to reveal thick ropes made of darkness, stunning their allies.

"What the devil?" Frederick muttered. Even the criminals were put off by the bizarre technique displayed before them and appeared as though they would run away, but the Robins managed to bind two criminal's hands together with no resistance. They moved on to the last two and repeated the process, tying their hands and leaving enough of the shadow rope hold to hold on to, leading all four toward Chrom and the others who hadn't gotten out of their astonishment yet.

"Just how many darkness-related techniques do you two have?" Chrom asked.

"Theoretically infinite according to our guide," male Robin said. "Boy is this really handy."

"I'll say," Frederick spoke. "It certainly raises more questions as to your origins. No one alive on this planet had such remote access over the shadows as well as you two do." The Robins tensed up at Frederick's interrogative and unfriendly tone, though Chrom stepped in before the great knight could say anything else.

"Frederick, let's just be thankful that they're on our side for now okay?" the man said. He didn't mean to sound as though the two would turn on them but it put Frederick more at ease. "Now then, with these brigands under arrest we just have one more to deal with."

"Hey yeah, where _did_ that bloated blowhard run off to?" Lissa said as she attended to the injured mage.

"He was further up north last we saw him," Harman said. "He's probably tried running off knowing him."

"O' maybe, _just_ maybe," a voice said, "'e's _rahght_ _'ere!_" Everybody swiveled about to face the ruffian leader Garrick right behind them, sporting one of his sleazy smiles.

_**Theme – Menace (Intro)**_

"A darn shame ya' boyz got captured, but oh well. Ah'll find more suitable replacements for ya'."

"You!" Chrom was about to run the man through until he stepped aside, showing the party that he once again managed to capture the unfortunate maiden from before. This time around she actually looked bloody and bruised, showing everyone that he's a man who follows up on his threats if only just a little.

"Yeah, see, dis li' lady ain't got much time before she croaks, an' if ya' want me to let 'er live ya' gots t' lay ya' weapns down. And just to prove mah point…" Garrick took his axe and raked it across the girl's leg, drawing much tears and blood from the muffled maiden. "Each ten seconds ya' don' do nuffn' is another strike against 'er, an' Ah don' dink she'll last much longer any'ow. Y'alls can try an' 'eal 'er, but it ain't gon' make a difference." Now Garrick had put them into a tough spot, only giving them little time to formulate a plan to dispose of him and save the girl. Another ten seconds passed and another slash was delivered to the maiden. Being pressured into surrendering, Chrom was about to lay Falchion down hoping to try something to catch Garrick off guard, but the maiden furiously shook her head in a "no" gesture, essentially telling him not to give in. Garrick noticed this and shot a devilish smile at the terrified young woman. "Oh, so ya' _want_ t' feel mah axe do ya'? Kinky lil' harlot ain'tcha?" Again his axe dug inside of her sides, dragging itself through her flesh. At this point the maiden was screaming and crying from the pain but she made no struggle to free herself, having resigned herself to dying than to live only for so long to experience the worst thing to happen to many a woman. The Shepherds looked on despairingly and were just about to lay their weapons down, and the brigands who were bound watched in disgust and horror at their leader despite harboring a hatred toward Ylisseans. Not even _they_ were that rotten. The Robins looked at their shadows only to find that their positions were reversed from earlier, with Garrick's shadow facing them rather than the other way around. Just as they were thinking that their Shadow's Touch wouldn't help them their guide came back with even more knowledge.

_**'****Fret not Robin; have you forgotten how I have mentioned just one variant of the Shadow's Touch?'**_ the guide said. _**'Look at the man's shadow.'**_ Sure enough Garrick's shadow was making contact with them, the opposite of what happened earlier. _**'The first variant of the Shadow's Touch allows you to touch someone else through your shadow making contact with their body; the other variant allows you to touch another person through **_**your**_** body making contact with **_**their**_** shadow…'**_ The revelation brought a new sense of hope to the snownettes who immediately plotted another attack. _**'You know what to do…'**_ And sure enough the Robins rose their arms up high with their swords as Garrick watched on with an amused grin.

"Ya' gon' try dat shadow trick again? Nice try ladies, ya' shadow ain't touchn' me this ti—" Garrick was hoping that he would dissuade the pair from whatever they were doing, only to find them smiling like a devious child. He looked down to the ground where the Robins would stab their swords, finding his shadow touching them. He only had a moment of dawning comprehension and a single thought to himself. _'Dis' is gon' suck…'_ In short notice the Robins plunged their swords into Garrick's shadow, impaling him in his axe arm. Just like before the maiden attempted to flee from her captor but her injuries prevented a swift escape, and Garrick was just enough pissed off to lash out in rage, backhanding her across her face and knocking her down to the ground. His tantrum left him open for another strike against him, with the Robins stabbing him through his chest. The barbarian backed off and Chrom was able to rush in to the maiden's aid, whisking her away from the man and to Lissa who was already focusing her magic into the staff. With the maiden in safe arms the Robins approached the bleeding man who retrieved his dropped short axe.

"_Again_ with ya' cheap tricks‽" the man howled.

"You've no right to claim that we're using cheap tricks when you're the one who held a defenseless hostage and actually harmed her to have us stand down," the male Robin spoke.

"Your remaining men may have been spared but that won't apply to you," the female Robin said. "You're pure scum."

"Oh yea'? Well if Ahm as evil as ya' say Ah am den let th' gods demselves strike me down!"

_**'Don't tempt me…'**_ the guide said, catching the Robins' interests.

_'What's that supposed to mean?'_ the male one asked.

_**'****It is of no concern right now, Focus on the criminal before you.'**_ The pair readied their weapons as Garrick switched arms.

"Good ding Ah ain't actually right-handed!" the man boasted.

"You'll be no-handed once we're through with you," said the male Robin.

"Prepare to get disarmed crook," the female counterpart said as they both charged at their opponent, leaving behind a bewildered Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa.

"Did they just…make a disarming joke?" Chrom asked.

"They did," Frederick answered in his usual monotone. "Powers rooted in darkness _and_ tasteless jests; what other surprises do these two have in store for us?"

"Oh it wasn't that bad," Lissa commented, "at least not as bad as Chrom's jokes."

"Hey!" Lissa laughed at her brother's expense as the man shrugged her off, looking over to the Robins battling with Garrick.

_**Theme – Menace**_

The pair initially settled on simply stabbing the larger barbarian to death through his own shadow; this didn't last as the man simply moved to where their shadows were parallel to each other's, removing a very huge disadvantage against him. Whenever the Robins would move to connect their shadows with him or his shadow with theirs he moved to their movements, ensuring that they wouldn't abuse their dark powers again. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't a cunning man even in his own right, forgetting that the two of them could simply place themselves above and below him. That was what exactly happened once the Robins came to that part, effectively trapping the man between them. As male Robin pelted the man's shadow with lightning spells despite being able to hit him regularly, the female Robin slashed at him making her shadow strike the man's unarmored body. Unable to move much Garrick once again fell victim to his frequent outbursts of anger, wildly tossing his axe at the female Robin. Like with the maiden he actually managed to hit his target, causing the woman to stagger a bit, and Chrom was just about ready to rush in to aid her. The axe rematerialized in the bandit leader's hand but by then he may as well have not gotten it back; the male Robin was effectively bombing his shadow with rapid-casting of the basic lightning tome and he couldn't strike back, but with the lack of the female Robin rapidly assaulting the man he was able to pull away from the attack.

"_Grahh‼_ Y'alls dink ya' _so_ tough wiff ya shadow play!" Garrick angrily accused. "Ah bet you ain't jack-shit widout it!"

"You really want to test that theory then?" female Robin's voice came from behind the man, looking very much annoyed. "We'll show you just how powerful we are without having to resort to 'shadow play'." Immediately the female Robin threw out a slash attack that Garrick blocked but it was so that male Robin could singe the man from behind with a lightning spell. Having Garrick's guard dropped female Robin attempted to take off his head in one slash but missed, slashing through his left shoulder while male Robin again blasted him with lightning. Garrick kicked out at female Robin, knocking her away before flinging his short axe in male Robin's direction, barely nicking the man's tome arm. In short notice the barbarian bum-rushed the younger male, pinning him down and attempting to choke the man out. It didn't last long as the female Robin recovered from her daze and ran to catch the barbarian off guard. At the same time the male Robin kicked Garrick off of him to allow for a short breath; with his female self closing in the man prepared his own sword and dashed at Garrick. The brigand noticed the duo and made to dodge which would make them attack each other, but he was too injured to move out of the way by the time he came up with the tactic. The male Robin aimed for his neck while the female Robin aimed for his waistline, moving in perfect synchronization with each other as to avoid slashing each other open. Before Garrick even knew it both the Robins had passed right through him, causing him to wonder if they missed him somehow. The three combatants remained perfectly frozen in time aside of Garrick's eyes darting back and forth between his two attackers.

"What…what just…_Hnnng‽_" A sharp pain shot into the brigand's neck and waistline, and though he tried to move himself his body refused his mind's commands. Still in a daze the man could feel himself slowly coming apart in those same locations; it wasn't long until blood poured out from him and his mind slipped into unconsciousness. First came his head, rolling off of the shoulders into a dirty gutter in the street while the rest of his body flopped down with a wet thud. Invariably, rats came pouring out of the street gutters to feast on the fresh meat they were provided, grossing out the other three Shepherds.

_**Theme – **_

"Yeck," Lissa groaned. "Can't the rats just go find some cheese to eat instead of…this?"

"Rats don't particularly favor cheese milady," Frederick told her. "That's something of a stereotype of mice and rats. These rats happen to be carnivorous in fact."

"Ugh…"

"Well that's a free buffet for them and one less brigand in the streets at the least," Chrom said, "though I doubt I'll eat anything for a good while now."

_**Theme – But Frederick, It's Nearly Dark!**_

The trio wondered how long it would take until the Robins resumed moving again until the female Robin coughed up blood. Chrom was ready to rush over to her, just barely remembering that he still held the unconscious maiden in his arms. Before he could set her down she came to, opening her eyes to his visage staring down at her.

"You…you saved me…didn't you Lord Lowell?" she spoke quietly.

"I…I didn't save you exactly," the man answered. "They did." He motioned toward the Robins who were holding each other as they strolled over to their new friends. "They're the one's who freed you on both counts."

"I know that. Still, you were the one who pulled me away from that madman weren't you?"

"That's correct."

"Thank you sire. I had just given about up on being saved when he threatened to kill me if you didn't surrender. I didn't want you to yield to some murderer over one little old maiden like me."

"Every innocent life matters in our books." Frederick spoke. "That is how we Shepherds operate. No one is to be left behind."

"You said it Freddy-bear!" Lissa proclaimed. "We _always_ save the sheep from the wolves!"

"I can see why you call yourselves the Shepherds," the maid said with a laugh. "I really must thank you all for saving me from those bandits. That man Garrick, he killed my dying old mother before stealing everything we had of value before dragging me out of my home. He then set it on fire…with my mother still inside…"

"Well you can rest easy knowing that he's not going to be causing you any more problems," Chrom assured her. "Thanks to the Robins, he's off to a less pleasant place for his deeds."

"Serves him right…But…what about those men behind you? Aren't they the bandits who worked under Garrick?"

"They've surrendered. They'll be tried and sentenced for their crimes, but they'll have wardens monitoring their progress while in prison. This is us giving them a second chance at redemption while giving them appropriate punishments."

"Ah…well, good on them for taking the chance while they could." Chrom helped the maiden stand to her feet as he made his way over to the Robins to inspect the female's wound. Lissa quickly hopped on over to the trio and took a closer look at female Robin's injuries before swiftly applying her heal staff. Just like her previous attempts to heal the pair before, her attempt ended in failure.

"Aw, come on!" the girl whined. "This _again‽_"

"Don't worry Lissa," female Robin said to calm the girl down. "If that clinic is any indication, then I can just heal myself by standing in the shadows." To demonstrate her point the young woman walked over to one of the streets dark alleyways, waiting for the healing effect to take place. Sure enough it did, healing female Robin at a much faster pace than earlier due to the smaller wound despite the lesser effect of darkness present. "See, what did I tell you? All in one piece, good as new!"

"I sure wish I knew exactly what heals you when you're in the dark because nothin' I got on me is doing the trick. It'd sure come in handy later on when I can figure out how to make staves."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out someday," the male Robin said. "I'd rather we not have to find some spot of sufficient darkness every time we want to patch ourselves up."

_**'****Once you become more proficient in your ability to handle the darkness you will be able to heal yourselves wherever and whenever you desire, as well as doing the same to others,'**_ the guide said. _**'Right now you have much training to undergo if you wish to use the ful extent of your nigh-godlike powers of darkness…'**_

"I just noticed that you guys tend to space out from time to time," Chrom spoke up. "Is this your 'mystery guide' that you referred to earlier talking to you?"

"Yeah, it's them," female Robin answered.

"Well what'd they say?"

"They said that the more we practice with our unique powers, the more powerful techniques we'll gain access to in the future, such as not needing to run for shade to heal ourselves."

_**'That is not what I said word for word, but whatever gets your point across without revealing too much I suppose…'**_

"Okay then." Chrom had to think about how bad things would have been had someone the likes of Garrick took the pair in instead of him and his Shepherds. "Well, I'll be perfectly honest in saying that I'm _really_ glad that we were the ones who found you out in those fields. Had someone else found you there may have been some serious repercussions."

"And we're glad that you were the ones that found us," male Robin said expressing Chrom's similar relief.

"I haven't gotten the chance to properly thank the both of you for all of your help," the maiden said walking up to the duo, shaking their hands with hers. "I am truly, truly thankful for what you…you…"

_**Theme – **_

She took one single glance downward at their hands and found a peculiar mark on their hands. Upon closer inspection she recognized the brand immediately, flinching at the sight. Everyone present noticed this and wondered what had just happened; the maiden slowly trailed her eyes back up to the two whose hands she was currently holding. Not wanting to cause a scene she quickly composed herself and tried to appear as she did before. "Oh, e-excuse me…I nearly mistook you for someone else. Silly me. Anywho, I am so grateful that you came to my rescue when you did; who knows what could have befallen me had Garrick had his way with me…"

"Happy to help miss," male Robin said. The young woman seemed to be more at ease seeing the two's smiling faces.

"If you want, I can go fetch the town elder so that a celebration may be had in your honor for defending the town from further attack."

"A celebration‽" Lissa squealed. "Count me _in_ sister! Ooh, do you think you can get the village elder to hook me up with some medium-well dark meat, unsalted soup, and—"

"We're not staying," Chrom said plainly. Lissa almost didn't hear the man with her rambling until the words made it to her ears, abruptly stopping to face her brother with a confused glance.

"Wait, what was that now?"

"We're not staying," Chrom repeated, earning a disbelieving stare from Lissa.

"…_What?_"

"We're. Not. Sta—"

"I heard what you said Chrom, but just…why _not?_"

"We really don't need to stay here any longer, and we'd hold Emm up back home."

"Oh-puh-lease Chrom! We have all the time in the world to get back home. Why not take the nice lady's offer up and—"

"Lissa, we're on a tight schedule to make it back to Ylisstol as soon as possible. We don't have the luxury to hang back and spoil ourselves. The village maiden is making a generous offer, but he have to decline."

"Aw what? This stinks."

"Oh well, maybe some other time," the male Robin said.

"Perhaps we can arrange a future visit?" the female Robin suggested.

"_That_ we can do," Chrom answered, "just not right _now_."

"Fine," Lissa relented, "but you better bet that I'm holding you to your word Chrom."

"I'm not exactly promising anything Lissa, so there's nothing to hold me to. Anyways, we've spent enough time here. I bid you a happy future and a hopefully not permanent farewell."

"Yeah! See you soon!"

"Safe travels all of you," the village said waving her hand.

"We'll count on it," Frederick said. "If your village needs any future help from the Shepherds, simply let us know. We aren't all protecting the villagers from threats these days you know."

"See you!" the Robins said. With their goodbyes said the Shepherds made their way back to the wagon that they carted around. Tamás, Gudada, Harman, and Mircea were lifted into the wagon and their shadow hold binds were tied to each others', preventing any possible future attempts of escaping very far. Chrom, Lissa, and the Robins decided to travel on foot while Frederick seated himself atop of his horse. With everything set the travelers made their way through the town's exit and toward their destination.

"Whew, another bandit attack stopped before it could get any worse," Chrom remarked, "though they seem to be getting worse and worse each time."

"I know right?" Lissa said sighing. "I mean, it's good that we're stopping them, but I wish we could just stop them from happening so much. And it's always some helpless innocents that are the targets…Chrom, Frederick, do you think these bandit attacks are happening because of…"

"Probably," Frederick answered. "Many bandits these days seem to be personally out for the Ylissean populace for some grievance or another. Others simply wish to see our people suffer for some unstated reason. Gone are the days of bandits simply wishing to line their pockets with others' riches."

"We shouldn't let any of this get to us," Chrom said. "We'll pull through it, just like we did in Ylisse's reformation years."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Lissa just wanted it all to die down for starters, feeling increasingly exhausted from the recurring attacks. Her brother and bodyguard shared the sentiments with her silently, leaving the Robins stunned as to how many bandit attacks they've apparently been dealing with.

"You guys have a bandit problem?" the male Robin asked.

"A really bad one," Chrom said. "It started a few months ago after I made eighteen. Every state has bandit problems, there's no real getting around that, but the Halidom of Ylisstol, our home and the capital state of Ylisse, has seen very frequent bandit raids on smaller towns and villages as of late, becoming as frequent as two per week. We have yet to figure out where these bandits are coming from and they seem to strike at random. With no leads as to why this is happening we can't pinpoint the cause and stamp it out as it stands. Our army is also very small right now so it's usually just us Shepherds going from town to town, village to village, making sure that Ylisse doesn't fall to a mass invasion of bandits."

"Wow, sounds pretty rough," the female Robin said.

"We desperately need a new strategy to counter this or at least some more soldiers to help us out."

"Well then, you picked up the right people for the job," female Robin said confidently.

"Wait, what? You mean you—"

"Yes," male Robin said, "we want to join the Shepherds and help you guys out with this bandit problem. I'm sure we'll come up with a plan to help curb the large influx of brigands."

"Whoa, you guys mean it?" Lissa asked in awe.

"We sure do."

"Sweet! We could use the extra set of hands to help us around!"

"We would definitely love to have you two as Shepherds." Chrom said.

"'We'?" Frederick asked.

"I get it Frederick, you still don't exactly trust them, but what they've done today is enough reason for me to trust them."

"Very well then milord. It's your call."

"Once we get home we'll formally induct you into the Shepherds. How's that sound?"

"Sounds nice," female Robin said.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well then, welcome aboard the Shepherd Wagon, Robin." The Robins could not believe their luck already; the guide said that the Luck Balance of the Universe would tip in their favor but they didn't think it would be to this degree. Already they've made new friends by helping to save a town and lives, getting some of the brigands to stand down just by talking to them, and now they've got a place to stay on top of their incredibly useful ability to utilize all manner of darkness. But just as they were about to praise their good luck their guide spoke to them again.

_**'****Your luck may be astronomical as of right now – and it will remain that way – but that does not mean you will not face hardships that you must pull through yourselves. Remember the things that I have told you and remember them well, for you are far from securing a definite hold on your own destiny right now.'**_ Listening to their guide reminded them of the talk about both the light and darkness; Chrom was ultimately a creature of the realm of light just as they were creatures of the realm of darkness. Lucina – whom they had yet to meet – was a creature of the realm between, a combination of light and darkness. They had to keep cautious about how they approached things now that they were with Chrom, and they had to seek Lucina out whenever they got the chance. Perhaps she could help guide them down their destiny.

_'Lucina, wherever you are, please still be alive…'_


End file.
